


The Doctor of Boeshane

by cazmalfoy



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 19:14:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1659356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a freak storm sends PCs Gwen Cooper and Andy Davidson to the mystical land of Boeshane, they encounter a talking scarecrow, a tin woodman, a cowardly lion, an evil mage and a mysterious Doctor. Will they ever get home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Doctor of Boeshane

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Torchwood version of the Wizard of Oz/Wicked.

Madame Rose Tyler was annoyed; the Doctor knew that much. If the scowl on her face wasn’t a clear indication of her mood, the rain pouring from the sky certainly showed the darkness of her thoughts. Storm clouds had been gathering for several hours and were getting distinctly darker by the second.

The Doctor had been watching her from across the room for a few moments, trying to decide if he was brave enough to approach her. “Is something wrong?” he eventually asked tentatively, slowly approaching the blonde woman; he knew how volatile she could be if caught in the wrong frame of mind.

Rose snorted with sarcastic laughter and rolled her eyes. “‘Is something wrong?’” she repeated, turning to face him. “What do you think, Doctor? I brought that creature,” she spat the word out as though it were rotten food, “here to try make him into something; something that would be useful to us, and now the bastard has taken all my teachings and turned them against us.”

The Doctor clicked his tongue and shook his head, curling and uncurling his fist as he took deep breaths to calm himself down. “You can’t make someone be who they’re not, Rose,” he scolded, dutifully ignoring the bastard comment; he was not about to get into another fight with her about the aforementioned young man. “No matter how hard you try or how many spells you cast.”

Rose turned and regarded him with a raised eyebrow. “You do know what will happen when word of this gets out, don’t you?” she demanded, glaring at him menacingly. 

“He might not tell anyone of this,” the Doctor suggested, a hopeful tone in his voice.

The woman let out a bark of sardonic laughter. “Please, Doctor, don’t be a fool. This is a big deal. If we let him get too far away from here, come morning all of Boeshane will know that ‘the Doctor’ is really just a mad old fool from Gallifrey who has no real power besides talking too much.”

The Doctor glared at her and straightened his thin tie. “Excuse me!” he cried indignantly. “I am not old.”

“But the mad part you’re not denying?” Rose countered, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. She held the Doctor’s glance for a moment, before turning serious once more, “Something needs to be done about this, and soon. Jack’s getting too out of control.”

The Doctor sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck. Slouching down in an uncomfortable chair, he looked up at her with wide brown eyes. “What do you propose we do?” he questioned quietly. “Jack is out of control; has been since the day he joined the Agency. Nothing we’ve ever tried has worked; he’s always done his own thing and followed his own rules – with no regard for the consequences.”

“No regard for the consequences?” Rose repeated incredulously. “That’s putting it mildly. Do I need to remind you what he did to that poor kitten?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “And what about Owen? He’s going to look like that for the rest of his life.”

The Doctor closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face. “His magic is strong,” he murmured, trying to find some good in the younger man.

“Too strong for him,” Rose stated, crossing the room and crouching down in front of the Doctor. “When we agreed to teach him how to control his magic, there was no way we could have known how much of his humanity it would destroy.”

The Doctor’s eyes flew open at her words. “Destroy his humanity?” he whispered. “You really think things have gotten that bad?” he asked, feeling dread grow in his stomach at her words; he had never considered Jack’s powers could have that effect on him.

Rose nodded her head, running her thumbs over the back of his hands before getting to her feet. “I think if we let things remain as they are for much longer, he’ll have no humanity left. Every time someone tries to get close to him, he pushes them away and buries himself further in his magic studies. We thought we could get him to be friends with Ianto, and look how that one turned out. Once Jack’s powers get a hold of him fully, who’ll be able to stop him then? He’ll be more powerful than every magical being in the country.”

“What do you suggest we do?” the Doctor pressed, feeling the desperate desire to try and save the younger man’s humanity.

Rose grinned, knowing she had won, and took a step back from him. He watched as she crossed the room and unfastened the large carpet back she had brought with her. Carefully she pulled a dusty book out from inside and ran a hand over the cover; the dust didn’t shift and the Doctor wondered how long it had been left on a shelf. It wasn’t as thick as the one Jack had taken with him when he had fled; nor did it contain spells of the same calibre. But there were plenty of spells that would help Rose with her plan.

~

Across the Peninsula in Torchwood Castle, Jack Harkness landed through the open window with all the grace of a cat jumping off a bed. He grinned to himself and stepped further into the room, closing the window behind him. 

It was just beginning to rain and Jack was glad he’d got back before the weather had turned. He hated rain - had done all his life – and being caught in it was not his ideal situation. The Mage shivered lightly and crossed the room, quietly whispering a spell under his breath and easily lighting the open fire.

“That’s lazy,” a familiar voice spoke from across the room, making Jack jump a little; he hadn’t even realised there was any one else in the room.

Jack turned, another grin slowly spreading across on his face as he regarded the other man. Ianto Jones was lying across the overstuffed couch; one leg bent at the knee, the other hanging off the side. His left arm was slung over his head, while his other rested on his stomach and he was wearing a handsome smile on his face. 

“You’re just jealous because you can’t do it,” Jack teased, unfastening his long coat now the room was warming up.

Ianto raised an eyebrow and watched as Jack threw the coat on the back of a nearby armchair. “What, light a simple fire?” He scoffed and shook his head, fiddling with a few strands of his hair. “It’s not exactly top level magic, is it?” Granted, he was nowhere near as powerful as Jack, but even he could manage that. The elements had always responded to him. He’d learnt when he was a child to use the wind to hear things and the earth to help calm people. There wasn’t much he couldn’t make plants do, but beyond that, he had little real magic. Jack was the true Mage in their relationship. 

“Yan-Toe!” Jack whined, fluttering his eyelashes at the other man as a smirk played at the corner of his mouth.

Ianto growled deep in his throat and snatched a cushion from the couch. “It’s ‘Ianto’, and you know it, you brat,” he snapped, throwing the cushion at Jack.

The Mage laughed and caught the cushion before it hit him in the stomach. “Okay, calm down,” he muttered, moving closer to the couch. “There’s no need to get violent!” he added, throwing the cushion back at Ianto.

Ianto rolled his eyes and reached out, grabbing Jack’s wrist before the other man could move away. “Come here,” he whispered, pulling Jack on top of him, so their bodies were flush against each other.

“You know,” Jack said, leaning up on his elbows and looking down at Ianto, “if you wanted to be underneath me, all you had to do was ask.”

Ianto, too used to Jack’s comments, didn’t react; instead he reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “What’s it like out there?” he whispered, brushing Jack’s soft hair away from his forehead. “And I don’t mean the weather,” he added when Jack opened his mouth to reply. “I can see that for myself,” he added, glancing out of the window at the now-dark sky.

Jack snapped his mouth closed and offered Ianto a guilty smile; proving he had been about to give his lover a weather report. “Word has got out that there’s someone evil in town with extraordinary magical powers,” he whispered, averting his eyes.

Ianto sighed and tightened his grip on Jack, shifting a little so they were both comfier. “Well at least they got one part of it right,” he murmured, pressing his lips against Jack’s forehead. “You do have extraordinary magical powers.”

Jack smiled tightly and closed his eyes, leaning into Ianto’s embrace for a long while before he pulled back and studied his lover. “You’re so lucky you didn’t say evil,” he stated, narrowing his eyes a little.

Ianto grinned and lightly hit Jack on the back of his head. “You don’t have an evil bone in your body, Jack Harkness,” he stated firmly.

“Try telling that to the hundreds of people who are out there looking for me,” Jack muttered darkly. “If they find you here it’ll be…”

Ianto shook his head and placed a finger over his lips, quickly and effectively silencing him. “There’s no way they’re going to find me here,” he assured him. “Not with all the defence and alarm spells you’ve put up around this place.”

Jack smiled bashfully and ducked his head, burying his face in Ianto’s chest. “I just don’t want them to find you here with me,” he confessed.

Ianto hugged the other man tightly. “They won’t,” he repeated, trying his hardest to make the Mage see that he was perfectly fine in the castle. He hesitated for a moment before adding, “But you know I can’t stay here forever.” He winced a little at how callous he sounded; his lover had done nothing but protect him, and Ianto was turning that protection away. But Ianto knew he had to; he couldn’t stay in Torchwood Castle permanently.

Jack’s head shot up and he stared at Ianto for a long moment before asking slowly, “Why not? I can fly now – you saw that for yourself – I can go out occasionally and get us food, and things. I don’t see why we can’t just stay here and pretend the outside world doesn’t exist.”

Ianto sighed heavily. “Even if you can defy gravity now, no one knows about us, Jack, remember?” he said softly. “If you disappear of the map, and then I do too, that’s going to be suspicious, don’t you think?”

“I don’t care,” Jack swore, his voice firm. “Let them be suspicious, I’m not letting you get hurt because of me. The rest of Boeshane can die for all I care; the only people who matter to me are you and Gray – even if Gray doesn’t want to see me again.”

Ianto glared at him. “Don’t say that, Jack,” he ordered. “You know you don’t mean it; you’re not that person, regardless of what everyone thinks. I know you better than that; if you start saying things like that, pretty soon you’ll start believing it and what people are saying will be true. But, they are going to be panicking. As far as the people of Boeshane are concerned, there’s an evil magic running around. They’re going to need someone to keep them calm.”

Jack leant up on his elbows and looked at Ianto, a fond smile spreading across his face. “And that’s you?” he asked. Ianto nodded his head and Jack leant down, pressing a kiss against his lips. “That’s so you; making sure everyone’s happy.”

“I just wish I could stop all this and make you happy,” Ianto murmured, tightening his grip on Jack and deepening the kiss.

Jack chuckled against his lips. “Find a way to get us both safely out of Boeshane – ‘cos we both know my magic is not that powerful – and I will be the happiest man in all of existence.”

~

PC Gwen Cooper and her partner, Andy Davidson, approached the derelict house cautiously. The neighbours had been reporting strange sounds from inside for several days. With the economy the way it was, an increasing number of vacant homes had become the refuge of squatters. Looking at the rapidly darkening sky, Gwen hoped they could deal with whatever it was quickly and get back to the car before it started to rain. If it took longer than a few minutes, she’d never make it home in time for dinner; and her boyfriend, Rhys Williams, was making lasagne.

“We need to sort this before it rains,” she told Andy, gesturing skyward.

“We live in Cardiff, Gwen,” Andy replied with an eye roll. “It’s always raining.”

“I think it’s about to piss it down though,” Gwen retorted, smiling at Andy’s statement. She loved his down to earth approach to life and their job. 

Looking up, Andy winced and nodded his head. “You might be right about that.” He glanced around the property. “Look, if it’s nothing worse than squatters, what do you say we let them be until the weather clears?”

“But they don’t…” Gwen began.

“It’s going to be ugly out tonight,” Andy reminded her. “I have a pint waiting for me at the pub, and you have lasagne and Rhys. What right do we have to begrudge them shelter? I say, we check it out and if it’s squatters, we pretend we haven’t seen anything?” he suggested.

Gwen finally nodded. They both knew that if they found something more than vagrants – like dealers or something – they would have to report it, but leaving a few unfortunate homeless souls in an empty house for one more day wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Gesturing for Gwen to follow him inside, Andy showed his torch around, calling, “Cardiff PD!” as he went.

As Gwen entered, the door slammed shut behind her and the room grew dark and silent. “I don’t like this at all,” the Welshwoman muttered.

Both PCs felt the storm break outside as rain and wind pelted the structure. Within seconds, the gale seemed to intensify to what Gwen imagined a tornado must feel like: if they had tornados in the UK.

“Bloody hell!” Andy screamed to be heard over the screech of the wind. “I think it’s a cyclone.”

“Don’t be daft,” Gwen shouted. “This is Cardiff, not Kansas!”

“Then explain that,” Andy demanded, pointing out the window to the oncoming funnel cloud. 

“Shit!” Gwen yelled as they threw themselves to the ground, huddling behind an old sofa. 

Around them, the house began to pitch and roll. They expected it to collapse on them at any minute, but they never imagined feeling it lifting off its foundation. 

Clinging to each other, they managed to stand to look out the window. “I think we’re inside it,” Gwen breathed when she saw the dark, swirling clouds around them.

“You think?” Andy muttered, trying his radio. “Bloody thing is useless. Try your mobile,” he instructed.

“What? Oh?” For a moment, Gwen looked confused before she realised what Andy was asking her to do and she scrambled to find her phone. She hurriedly pressed the keys and shook her head. “No signal,” she reported, just as a tree branch shattered one of the windows with a deafening crash.

Cursing, Andy dove for cover, pulling a screaming Gwen to the floor with him and covering her with his body. Outside, the swirling funnel of the cyclone bore the house further away from Cardiff. The PCs held each other, as Gwen continued to scream while the house bounced and pitched through the air. After what seemed like an eternity, the house settled to the ground with a shudder.

Standing and brushing themselves off, Gwen and Andy looked around. Gwen moved towards the door, intent on seeing where they had landed. Before she could get any further away from Andy than a few steps, he placed a hand on her arm and murmured, “Wait, we don’t know what’s out there.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Gwen retorted, shrugging his hand off her and moving to venture outside once more. 

Andy sighed and moved so his body was blocking her exit. “Be that as it may, there’s still no need to advertise who we are until we know where we are, don’t you think?” He gestured to their police vests and implements to further indicate to her what he was talking about.

“True,” Gwen admitted, removing her own accoutrements then opening the door with Andy reluctantly following her.

What had admittedly been a dodgy neighbourhood in Cardiff on a stormy afternoon was now a quaint countryside village basking in early morning sunshine. Colourful flowers and other strange foliage set the area apart from where they had just left.

Gwen looked around confused, as Andy followed her a few steps from the house. They both noticed what appeared to be several local residents stick their heads out, looking at them curiosity, before quickly darting back under cover. 

“I don’t think we’re in Cardiff anymore, Andy,” Gwen said, half in wonder and half in fear.

“What clued you in?” Andy retorted sarcastically. He gestured around them in exasperation. “The flowers that are taller than I am, or the people that barely reach my chest?”

Suddenly, across the landscape, an iridescent pink bubble appeared. They watched in wonderment as it slowly made its way towards them. 

Thanks Jack, Ianto thought, from inside the bubble as it began to settle to earth. Some time ago, his lover had created the spell to help him travel quickly. 

As soon as word reached him on the wind about what had happened, he had to come to see for himself. He hoped the first reports had been wrong – as they often were – and that Gray was injured but alive, or unhurt at all preferably.

When the bubble dissolved, Ianto knew that he could no longer deny the truth. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw where the house had landed and the person it had landed on. Oh, Gray, he thought. He’d found the young man manipulative but he knew Jack adored him. This would break his lover’s heart.

He stood there, a fake smile on his face as he welcomed the new comers, hoping to put the interlopers off guard. Whoever they were, they weren’t welcome in Boeshane. In fact, they were a threat to Jack. He needed to deal with them then get to his lover; if Jack found out about Gray another way, Ianto knew he would fly off the handle. There really was no telling what the Mage might do with vengeance on his mind, and there was no way Ianto could protect him.

Gwen stared at the beautiful young man who had appeared before her; surely he couldn’t be real – he was too good looking. “Now I know we’re not in Cardiff anymore,” she muttered to Andy, who was still stood next to her. “They don’t make them like that back home,” she sighed. His only reply was a snort.

Moving silently towards the duo, Ianto stopped a few feet away and asked Gwen, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”

Gwen looked around, bug-eyed and surprised. “Who, me? But, I'm not a witch at all. I'm Gwen Cooper from Cardiff.”

Ianto stared at her for a long moment, trying to decide if she really was a threat. Eventually he shrugged his shoulders, dismissing her as harmless and turning his attention to her companion - who, he had to admit, was quite cute. “Is he a witch then?” he asked, looking at Gwen but pointing at Andy.

“No!” Gwen shouted. “This is Andy! He’s my partner. My mate. Friend. You know?”

Rocking back on his heels, Ianto ran a hand down his face. “Well, I'm a little muddled,” he admitted, trying to not sound impatient; he really wanted to get rid of the pair. “The Munchkins called me because a witch has just dropped a house on Gray, the Wicked Mage of the East. There's the house, and here you are, and that's all that's left of the Wicked Mage of the East. And so what the Munchkins want to know – and so do I - is are you a good witch, or a bad witch?” he repeated his previous question.

Shaking her head, Gwen spoke slowly as though she thought Ianto was dumb, “I've already told you; I'm not a witch at all. Witches and mages are old and ugly.” She stopped as laughter echoed around her. Even Andy snorted. “What was that?” she demanded.

Ianto rolled his eyes, thinking not just of himself, but Jack as well. His lover was many things – annoying, egotistical, flirtatious, and a down right pain in the arse – but old and ugly was not among them. He didn’t think it described him, either. “It’s the Munchkins,” he explained to the young woman. “They're laughing because I am a Mage. I'm Ianto, the Mage of the North.”

“But, you can’t be,” Gwen gasped. “I mean, you’re not… Oh, bollocks!” Beside Gwen, Andy lost his battle with laughter. “What is so funny?” she demanded with her hands on her hips. 

“He came here in a bubble, Gwen,” Andy sighed, frustrated by his partner’s inability to see the obvious. “What did you think he was? The cleaning guy?”

“Get stuffed,” Gwen snarled before turning back to Ianto. “I do beg your pardon,” she stammered. “I’ve never heard of a beautiful… Err… handsome witch or mage before.” 

Ianto glared a little at her; only Jack got to call him beautiful. Thinking of his lover forced him to refocus his mind to the task at hand. “It’s okay,” he called to the people hiding around them, “you can come out now.” He looked back and Gwen and Andy. “The Munchkins are happy because you have freed them from the Wicked Mage of the East.” 

And you’ve freed Gray from his torment, he added silently. But you’ve caused Jack untold grief, and we’re best rid of you. Still, a plan had already started to form. They needed a way out of Boeshane, and these two might just be able to provide it, if he could keep them alive in the face of Jack’s vengeance.

Gwen exchanged glances with Andy, and then looked back at Ianto. “Please,” she asked in a voice that was part demanding and part deferential. “What are Munchkins?”

Sighing, Ianto gestured around. “The little people who live in this land; this is Munchkin City, and you are their national hero and heroine, my friends. It's all right, you can come out and thank them.” 

Suddenly, Gwen and Andy found themselves surrounded by a plethora of little people in vibrant colours. Their new friends ranged in height from just reaching Gwen’s shoulder to barely coming to her waist. As they danced and sang, they offered the Welsh pair a ride in a lovely carriage, which circled the town square before coming to stop at what appeared to be the City Hall.

A taller than average, redheaded Munchkin woman met them on the steps. Nodding to Ianto in greeting, she turned to Gwen and Andy. “I am Donna the Noble, Mayor of Munchkin City. I’m here to thank you for what you’ve done. You’ve killed the Wicked Mage of the East and freed us from his cruelty.” Turning to her fellow citisens, she cried, “Let the joyous news be spread, the Wicked Mage Gray at last is dead.”

As the Munchkins continued to celebrate, the Mayor turned back to Gwen and Andy. “As the Mayor of Munchkin City, in the County of the Land of Boeshane, I welcome you most regally.” She appeared about to say more when she was interrupted. 

“Madame Mayor,” a barrister said. “We have to verify if he is undeniably dead.”

On the dais, Ianto exchanged a glance with the Mayor and rolled his eyes as she sighed and shook her head. Bureaucrats, he thought. Even that bastard Gray couldn’t survive a house falling on him. 

Another Munchkin, this one wearing a badge that said ‘Coroner’, approached the Mayor. He handed her a scroll, which read Certificate of Death, and said, “As Coroner, I must aver I thoroughly examined him. And he is most certainly dead.”

Turning to the crowd, the Mayor proclaimed, “Then this is a day of Independence for all the Munchkins and their descendants! Let the joyous news be spread. The Wicked Mage Gray at last is dead.”

Immediately celebrations intensified and Ianto took a step back, trying not to let his disdain show on his face. He knew that everything was needed to keep the populace happy and calm and to protect Jack, but if he didn’t get their visitors out of there before his lover heard the news and appeared, their one chance to get out of Boeshane might go up in a puff of magical blue smoke. 

He only hoped the help he’d been promised could be put into place quickly once his charges were on their way. There was only so much he could do without drawing suspicion to himself. 

What followed was at least an hour of frivolity, singing, gift giving, and ceremony ranging from the sweet to the absurd. 

At one point, Ianto managed to slip away to make several calls via the crystal ball Jack had shown him how to conjure. He reached Jack first. His lover had heard the news and was coming this way. Ianto knew trying to keep him away was pointless, but he pleaded with him to follow his lead once he got there. “Trust me,” he had begged. “The people really responsible for this will pay, but not if you go off seeking revenge.”

“I want to kill them for this,” Jack had promised through tears. 

“I know,” Ianto had told him. “Please, just trust me. If we can use this, Gray’s death will not be in vain. We can stop Rose and the Doctor once and for all and get out of Boeshane.”

Had it been anyone but Ianto making the suggestion, Jack wouldn’t have agreed; but he trusted the younger Mage with his life. He was Jack’s soul; without Ianto, Jack would be as inhuman as everyone thought he was.

Once he was certain Jack would at least try to do as he asked, he made other calls to old friends who had promised help when the time came. To everyone else in Boeshane, they were Jack’s enemies – some of the countless people he had wronged. These people understood that Jack’s heart had been in the right place, even if his actions weren’t, and they had been quietly working for him for some time. They were his team, and he and Ianto both adored them.

Returning to the celebration, Ianto found Gwen and Andy being promised a bust in the City Hall of Fame. Glancing at Gwen’s chest, Ianto mused it was an appropriate gift.

Suddenly, a blinding flash appeared, making them all jump in surprise. A puff of blue smoke followed the flash, making them all cough at the taste of the smoke. Eventually, the smoke cleared, revealing Jack standing in the centre of the square. A light wind had appeared with Jack’s arrival, making his coat billow around him. He looked around him with eyes like blue fire, and his face like thunder. Around them, the Munchkins began to scream and run for cover. 

Only Ianto and Donna remained standing next to Gwen and Andy, who were clutching at each other. 

Gwen turned to Ianto and demanded, “I thought you said he was dead!”

“That was his brother, Gray; the Wicked Mage of the East,” Ianto said. “That’s Jack,” he nodded to the Mage in front of them. “He’s the Wicked Mage of the West. He’s worse than the other one was.” He knew he had to talk about Jack like he thought the other man was evil, but it didn’t make it any easier.

Jack had already moved away from them and had stalked across to the shack that had brought Gwen and Andy from Cardiff. Kneeling, he touched the only part of Gray he could see – his legs and right arm - and bent his head. Ianto wasn’t sure if he was murmuring a silent prayer or a spell. He sincerely hoped it wasn’t a spell; Jack’s emotions were all over the place – there was no way any spell he cast that was too complicated would be successful. 

Once he had finished whatever he had been doing, Jack stood and turned around, surveying his surroundings. When he saw Ianto stood with the others, he smirked evilly and stalked forward menacingly. Ignoring Ianto and Donna, he demanded of Gwen and Andy, “Who did this? Who killed my brother?” He honed in on Gwen, glaring fiercely at her. “Was it you? Answer me!” he snapped when she remained silent.

That’s my cue, Ianto thought, making sure his mask of indifference was firmly in place. “Leave them alone,” he instructed, wrapping one arm around Gwen’s waist and the other around Andy’s shoulders; Andy even smelt good he noted, before he firmly pushed that thought aside.

Immediately, Jack turned on him and regarded him with eyes so full of malice that it made Ianto shudder a little; even though he knew it wasn’t real. “You stay out of this,” the older Mage spat out. “I’m here for vengeance.” He glared at Gwen. “It was you, wasn’t it? You killed him, didn’t you? You look like a murdering bitch!”

“No!” Gwen shouted. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill anybody. Really, I didn’t!”

As Andy muttered to her to be quiet, Jack rolled his sleeves up, clearly about to start preparing a spell. “Didn’t mean it, huh?” he taunted. “It was an accident? Well, guess what, I can cause ‘accidents’ too, you little cow. And I’ll show you how…” 

He began an incantation when Ianto interrupted. “Aren’t you forgetting the Vortex Manipulator?” the younger Mage asked pointedly, indicating to the leather strap encircling Gray’s exposed arm. 

“The manipulator!” Jack hissed, quickly catching Ianto’s eye and immediately understanding what the other man had not had time to explain earlier. Ianto’s little plan might be the only way they could attain the object that would take them far away from Boeshane forever. As Jack turned to grab it, the device vanished – just like Jack had known it would - and Gray’s protruding limbs drew under the house out of sight and Jack’s reach.

Jack whirled back towards the foursome. “It’s gone!” he shouted, stalking towards Gwen as Ianto pointed at the slender, young woman. “Give it back to me,” he ordered.

Gwen looked terrified as Ianto said, “It’s too late.” He indicated to Gwen’s wrist and forced a smirk onto his face, “There it is and that’s where it’s going to stay.”

The young Welshwoman’s eyes followed Jack’s and she gasped in surprise when she realised the leather strap had appeared on her own wrist. “Oh,” she murmured, lifting her hand and inspecting the complex series of buttons adorning the leather.

Jack tried to not let his knowing look show in his face. He had known something similar would happen. Gray’s magic had not been nearly as powerful as Jack’s own, but he had been crafty and manipulative. He had feared Jack leaving him forever. He’d stolen the one device that would make that possible and cast a spell on it so that only he could use it. Gray’s spell had one loophole – in the event of the younger Harkness son’s death, it would pass to the person who killed him. He’d known Jack would never hurt him, so bewitching the device had ensured his brother would also protect him unto death, as if Jack would not have done that anyway. 

Now, Jack just had to trust that Ianto had a plan to break the spell that did not involve killing innocent people. It was something even Jack was loathed to do, but would do in a heartbeat if it meant keeping his lover safe and getting him out of Boeshane forever. 

With Gray gone, Ianto was the only person left who mattered to him; he would do what he had to in order to keep him safe and if that meant killing, he would.

“Give it back to me,” Jack said, playing his part as Ianto expected. “I’m the only one who knows how to use it. It’s of no use to you.”

Ianto shook his head and looked down at Gwen. “Hold tight to it,” he advised. “Don’t take it off for any reason.”

As Jack moved towards Gwen, his intent to hurt her showing on his face, Ianto laughed loudly. Their gazes briefly met and only slight nod of approval from Jack allowed him to continue; Jack knew much pain pretending they hated each other was causing his partner. “It must have very powerful magic, otherwise he wouldn’t want it so badly.”

“Stay out of this, Yan-Toe,” Jack warned mockingly, earning him a fierce glare from the other man that Jack knew was very real. “Or I’ll fix you as well.”

“Bullshit!” Ianto swore, trying to hide a smirk. Jack fixed him on a regular basis, and he had yet to complain. “You have no power here,” he scoffed. “Get lost before someone drops a house on you too.”

Looking disgusted, Jack tossed up his hands in exasperation. “Okay, Yan-Toe, you win… for now.” He turned to Gwen and smirked evilly, “Unfortunately, I can’t deal with you here and now as I’d like, but just try to stay out of my way! You cross me again and I’ll be forced to deal with you. Then your little fairy godmother won’t be able to protect you, you little bitch. I will get you, and your little lap dog, too.” He gestured to Andy.

“Hey!” Andy shouted, going red in the face. “No reason to be rude.”

Jack backed away, his great coat swirling around him before he disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

Heaving a sigh, Ianto turned to the Munchkins when the smoke cleared. He really did like the little people. They were as much victims in all of this as anyone. “It’s okay,” he told them soothingly. “You can come out now. He’s gone.” As the Munchkins began to rise, Ianto turned to Gwen and Andy. “Phew, what theatrics. I’m afraid you’ve made a rather bad enemy. The sooner you get out of Boeshane, the safer you’ll be.”

“We’d like nothing more,” Andy muttered icily, glaring at the spot where Jack had been standing. “Which way to the first coach to Cardiff?”

“I want to go home to Rhys!” Gwen wailed desperately. “But we can’t go the way we came,” she pointed out.

“No, that’s true,” Ianto agreed with nod of his head as he allowed himself a secretive smile. Things were working out just as he had planned. “The only person who might know a way would be the great and powerful Doctor of Boeshane himself.” He exchanged annoyed glances with Donna as the Munchkins bowed and shuffled around them.

“That old quack,” the mayor muttered, so that only Ianto could hear her.

Suppressing a grin, Ianto turned back to Gwen, who asked, “The Doctor of Boeshane? Is he good or wicked?”

Ianto gritted his teeth and managed to mutter, “Oh, he’s very good; but very mysterious. Very few people have met him. He lives in Tardis City; that’s a long journey from here. Did you bring your broomstick with you?” he asked innocently. Something about this young woman grated on his nerves and he couldn’t wait to get rid of her as soon as possible.

Andy snickered, making Gwen glare at him before she responded icily, “No, I’m afraid I forgot to pick it up when I left the house this morning.”

“Then you’ll have to walk I’m afraid,” Ianto said with mock dismay. “The Munchkins will show you the way.” He held up a hand, stopping her before she could get too far away from them, “Remember what I said about not letting that Vortex Manipulator off your wrist. It’s very important you keep hold of it.”

“But where do we start?” Gwen wondered.

“I’ve found that the beginning generally tends to be the best place,” Ianto told her, leading them to the centre of the square where a road began. “Just follow the Yellow Brick Road,” he said simply. “The Munchkins will see you safely to the border.”

“But what if we…” Gwen began, but Ianto had already faded away in another bubble; anxious to find Jack and make sure he was okay as he could be under the circumstances. Keeping his lover in check was going to be the hardest part of this. 

“People don’t half come and go quickly here,” Andy muttered.

Nodding in agreement, Gwen took his arm and they began to follow the parade of Munchkins down the road.

~

Jack was leaning against a tree in a small grove not far from town when Ianto appeared in one of the bubbles he’d created for him. The older Mage had his hands covering his face and Ianto could tell he was weeping silently.

“Jack,” Ianto whispered, crossing the clearing and gathering him into his arms, holding him tightly as he repeated over and over again how sorry he was and how well the other man had done.

After a while, Jack disengaged from Ianto’s arms and wiped his face on his sleeve. “They did this, didn’t they? The Doctor and Rose?”

Ianto nodded. “I’m pretty sure. The storm that brought that house and those – children – here stank of her magic. No one else in Boeshane could do that.”

“I could,” Jack stated petulantly before turning serious once more. “I want to kill them for this,” he growled, clenching and unclenching his fists.

Ianto shook his head. “You don’t mean that, Jack,” he soothed. “You’ve done things – things I know you’re not proud of; whether you meant them or not – but you’ve never killed anyone. I won’t let you become a killer now. I’m not going to let you live with the guilt and shame of murdering your own father.”

“A father who never acknowledged me until he discovered I had something he needed - real magic!” Jack spat. “A man who seduced my mother while her husband was away then left her to give birth to me and raise me alone, because the man I thought was my father considered what I could do wrong. The man who raised me thought I was so wrong that he tried to break Gray of his magic from birth and twisted him into the monster he became. Everything that has gone wrong in my life is because of that man who won’t even publically call himself my father. Give me one good reason – other than him being my father – that I shouldn’t kill the devious, lying bastard.”

“Because you might succeed, but you might also fail,” Ianto told him. “If you fail, they will kill you, and I refuse to lose you,” he said, a hitch his voice at the thought of losing Jack. “This way, they won’t suspect a thing. If everything goes to plan, you’ll be free and we can leave Boeshane together. No one will ever find us, because no one will even know to look. They’ll think you’re dead and that I’ve left for greener pastures or something.”

“Can it work?” Jack wondered, almost afraid to hope. “Can we really pull this off?”

“We have to trust the others,” Ianto told him. “We have a little while before we have to start playing our parts. Come here,” he reached for his lover again, holding him as he sobbed for his lost brother.

~

Gwen and Andy had been walking for almost an hour when they reached a literal fork in the road. “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” Gwen muttered in an eerie imitation of Ianto. “Now which way do we go?” she asked Andy.

“Don’t look at me; I haven’t got a clue,” Andy retorted, feeling in his pockets. “We cold flip a coin, I suppose.”

“Well,” a third voice said, “this way is very nice.” 

Looking around, the couple didn’t see anyone else except a scarecrow, whose arm seemed to be pointing towards the right hand fork. 

“Who said that?” Andy demanded loudly as Gwen looked frightened. “I’m getting a bit tired of these games.” He paused, peering at the scarecrow. “Wait, your arm wasn’t pointing that way before. Was that you?”

Gwen rolled her eyes when she heard him talking to the scarecrow. “Don’t be silly, Andy,” she scolded. “Scarecrow’s can’t talk.”

“And witches don’t exist,” the Welshman replied. “I’m pretty sure the rules as we know them no longer apply.”

At that moment, the scarecrow’s arm moved left. “It’s pleasant down that way, too,” it said.

“Wait!” Gwen cried. “Did you see that? That arm was pointing the other way a minute ago and now it’s pointing that way!” she exclaimed, pointing at the scarecrow.

“Brilliant observation, Gwen,” Andy replied, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

“Of course, some people go both ways,” the scarecrow concluded.

Gwen stalked forward and glared at the figure, her hands firmly in place on her hips. “You did say something, didn’t you?” she demanded.

The scarecrow at first shook its head, before slowly nodding and Gwen glared again. “Why are you doing that?” she demanded. “Can’t you make up your mind?”

The scarecrow pointed to its head. “That’s the problem,” it said. “I haven’t got a brain. Only straw.”

“How can you talk if you don’t have a brain?” Gwen demanded, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know,” the scarecrow admitted softly. “But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?”

Andy covered his mouth as he tried not to laugh, causing Gwen to glare at him, and then turned back to Tosh. “I guess you’re right,” she admitted. “We really haven’t met properly have we?”

“Well, no,” Tosh said, shaking her head again. 

“I’m Gwen Cooper,” the Welshwoman said. “This is Andy Davidson.”

“They call me Tosh,” the scarecrow said. “At least, they used to,” she corrected herself. 

“How do you do, ma’am,” Andy said with a smile.

“Well, I’m not very well at all,” Tosh replied impatiently. “You see, it’s very tedious hanging around all day with a pole shoved up your…”

“We get the picture!” Gwen interrupted quickly, a blush colouring her features. “Can’t you get down?”

“Down?” Tosh asked incredulously. “No, you see I’m…”

“Let us help you,” Andy offered, gesturing to Gwen to move around behind the pole. 

“That’s very kind of you,” Tosh replied brightly.

Gwen was examining Tosh’s back. “I don’t really see how…” she began. 

“I’m not very bright about doing things,” Tosh suggested. “But if you just…”

Suddenly, Gwen pulled on whatever was holding Tosh to the pole and they both tumbled to the ground as Andy stood there snickering.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Gwen said, getting to her feet.

“Let me help you,” Andy offered, extending a hand to Tosh. He came away with a fist full of straw. “Oh,” he yelped, jumping back in surprise.

Tosh giggled. “There goes some of me again.”

“Does it hurt you?” Gwen asked, looking concerned. 

“Oh no,” Tosh assured her. “I just keeping picking it up and putting it back in again.” She took the straw from a gobsmacked Andy and stuffed it back inside her shirt. “But it feels good to be… Oops!” She gasped as she stumbled over a fence.

“Oh my,” Gwen gasped as Andy scurried to help Tosh. “Did that hurt?”

“Did I scare you?” Tosh demanded as Andy hauled her to her feet.

“Well no,” Gwen admitted. “I was just worried that you’d hurt yourself.”

“But I didn’t scare you?” Tosh said dejectedly, slumping down on the fence with Andy and Gwen on either side of her. “I can’t scare anything. Crows come from miles around to sit in my field and laugh. I’m a failure because I don’t have a brain.”

“What would you do with a brain?” Gwen probed, fascinated by the concept or a scarecrow with a brain.

“Oh, so many things,” Tosh whispered, awe in her voice. “Contemplate things; dream about things; build things. Confer with the flowers. Consult with the rain.”

“They’d love you in Cardiff,” Andy said. “There’s rain to consult with every day.”

“Where’s Cardiff?” Tosh asked, sounding inquisitive and shy at the same time, almost as if she thought she should know where it was and didn’t.

“It’s where we’re from,” Andy explained. “We’re trying to get home.”

“We need to get back,” Gwen explained. “We’ve got people worried about us. I have a boyfriend, Rhys. He’s going to be worried.”

“I had a boyfriend,” Tosh murmured. “He died, and then I ended up like this.”

“How?” Gwen gasped, horrified. She’d just assumed that Tosh had always been a scarecrow and that scarecrows in this strange place could talk.

Tosh sighed. “It was a spell. The Wicked Mage of the West cast it.” She knew he had only been trying to protect her after what happened to Tommy; everyone thought she blamed Jack, but she couldn’t. Not really. He’d saved her, after all. There were worse things that could have happened to her.

“We’re going to Tardis City to see the Doctor,” Andy told her. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to help us get home.”

“You’re going to see the Doctor?” Tosh said, starting to bounce excitedly. “Do you think if I went with you then this Doctor would give me some brains?”

“I don’t see why not,” Andy replied. “But even if he didn’t, you’d be no worse off than you are now.”

“Maybe… Maybe he even could fix you,” Gwen added.

“Fix me?” Tosh tried and failed to keep the hurt out of her voice.

“You know, make you human again,” Gwen replied. “Not straw.”

“Oh,” Tosh mumbled, looking down at herself. “I… I feel human,” she whispered. “Just a human made out of straw.”

“Good job, Gwen,” Andy scolded, rolling his eyes.

“I didn’t mean…” Gwen began, looking flustered. She’d only been trying to help. “Of course you’re human, just different.” She paused. “Maybe you shouldn’t come with us. We’ve got the Wicked Mage of the West mad at us; it’s probably not safe.”

Tosh scoffed and drew herself up straight and tall. “I’m not afraid of him,” she stated. “I’m not afraid of anything; well, except a lit match.”

“Can’t say I blame you there,” Andy remarked, nodding sagely.

“But I’d face a whole box of them for a chance to have some brains,” Tosh told him. “And maybe Gwen’s right. Maybe the Doctor can fix me.” She looked at both of them pleadingly. “Look, I won't be any trouble, because I don't eat a thing. I won't try to manage things, because I can't think. Won't you take me with you?”

“Of course we will,” Andy hurriedly assured her before Gwen could say anything.

“All right, then,” Gwen agreed, smiling fondly at the straw woman.

“Hooray,” Tosh shouted, far louder than necessary; she knew her voice would carry on the wind to Ianto and he would be able to hear what she was saying. “We’re off to see the Doctor.”

~

Miles away, Ianto heard the voices on the wind and turned to Jack with a smile. “Tosh is with them,” he said. “It’s all coming together.” It was time to bring another friend into the mix.

~

By the time the trio had been walking for another hour, they were tired, thirsty, and hungry – well, all except Tosh. They had just come around a bend in the road when Gwen noticed something to the side.

“Look,” she cried, breaking away from the others and clambering over a fence. “Apples.” She picked one up and tossed it to Andy, who grinned. “There are more here,” she told them, gesturing to the tree before picking one.

“What do you think you’re doing?” the tree rumbled. 

Gwen stood with her hands on her hips and stared at the tree. “We’ve been walking a long way and we were hungry,” she told it.

The first tree looked at another nearby. “She was hungry,” he mimicked before turning back to Gwen. “Well, how would you like someone to just come along and pick something off of you?”

Tosh and Andy stared gobsmacked as Gwen continued to face off with the tree. “I keep forgetting I’m not in Cardiff anymore,” she explained. “But apples are for eating.”

“Bloody hell,” Andy muttered under his breath to Tosh.

“Come on, Gwen,” the straw woman suggested. “We should keep going.”

“I don’t want any of these apples anyway,” Gwen pouted.

“What do you mean you don’t want any of these apples?” the first tree snarled. “Are you implying there’s something wrong with my apples?”

“I just don’t like green,” Gwen retorted with a smirk. “Or worms,” she added with a glare.

Before Gwen could react, the trees reached for her, Andy, and Tosh. The trio fought them off and darted further off the road. They were almost clear when Gwen turned back to stick her tongue out at the angry foliage. 

“Don’t antagonise the talking trees, Cooper,” Andy shouted, grabbing for Gwen.

It was too late. Behind them, they heard the first tree snarl. “Do that to me will you? I’ll show you how to get apples.”

They took off at a run as they were pelted by fruit – both fresh and rotten. Laughing, they dodged the fruit and gathered as much as they could.

“You can’t do that!” The tree shouted.

“I guess we did,” Tosh hollered back as Andy herded both women to relative safety. 

They came to a halt when Gwen tripped over something and went sprawling. As Andy stopped to help her, Tosh gasped. “Why look,” she said. “It’s a man made of tin.” Oh, Owen, she thought, resisting the urge to reach out and stroke his unmoving cheek.

“What?” Gwen and Andy said at the same time, staring incredulously at what did seem to be a woodsman made of some type of metal. They both jumped back a little when he made a sound.

“Oilcan,” he mumbled through frozen lips.

“What’s he saying?” Gwen demanded.

“No idea,” Andy replied, shaking his head. This was getting too weird. He kept upping the number of pints it must have taken to get him this drunk. If he was right, he should be dead of alcohol poisoning, not having the strangest dream of his life.

Tosh barely refrained from making an exasperated sound. It wouldn’t do to appear too smart. After all, she was supposed to be looking for a brain. “I think he said ‘oil can,’” she suggested.

“Oh,” Gwen replied. “Oh, look here!” She picked up an oil can that was a few feet away from the woodsman. “Where should I oil first?” she asked.

“Mouth,” the tin man managed. “Mouth.”

“I think he wants his mouth oiled,” Andy indicated.

“I got that part,” Gwen retorted as she squirted some oil at one corner’s of the tin man’s mouth.

“The other side,” Tosh suggested helpfully, trying not to lose patience.

“Oh yes,” Gwen said, hastily repeating her actions.

The tin man tried to speak, “Mmmm,” he muttered as Tosh took the can from Gwen and oiled the arm holding the axe as Andy and Gwen slowly pulled it down. 

“Oh I can talk again,” the tin man managed. “Oil my arms, please. The elbows. Oh, thank you,” he said as they complied. As his were arms lowered, he breathed a sigh, “Oh.”

“Did that hurt?” Gwen asked, concern lacing her voice. 

“No,” the woodsman said. “It felt wonderful. I’ve held that axe up for ages.”

“How’d you get like this mate?” Andy inquired as he took the can and continued to oil the tin man’s various joints and hinges.

“You mean stuck?” the woodsman asked. “I was chopping that tree, minding my own business, when it started to bloody rain. Rusted solid in the middle of a damn chop. Been stuck that way ever since. Get my neck, will you mate? Name’s Owen, by the way.”

“Sure thing,” Andy replied, standing up and oiling the afflicted area. “Nice to meet you, Owen. I’m Andy. That’s Gwen there, and are straw friend is Tosh.”

“You’re perfect now,” Gwen mused, watching him move around with ease.

“Perfect?” Owen snarled. “Bang on my chest if you think I’m perfect. Go ahead, bang on it!”

Shrugging at the others, Gwen did as she was asked and gaped at the hollow sound her rapping made. 

“Oh beautiful,” Tosh breathed. “What an echo.”

“It’s empty,” Owen sighed. “I have no heart.”

“Oh my,” Gwen breathed. “But everyone has a heart. They just have to.”

“Not me,” Owen retorted. “I lost someone. Katie was her name. I went to the Mage of the West for help to stop it from hurting. I trusted him, and he took my heart. Then he turned me into this.” He knew it really wasn’t Jack’s fault. Owen had wanted to die, and Jack had refused to give up on him. What had happened was as much his fault as the Mage’s. He only hoped they could somehow make it right. “I’d give anything to get it back.”

Gwen exchanged looks with her companions, and then leaned in to whisper to them. She turned back to look at Owen. “We’re on our way to Tardis City to ask the Doctor for help. Andy and I need to get home, and Tosh wants a brain and to be human again. If you come with us, maybe he can give you a heart or even turn you back into a man.”

Owen looked wary. “But Tardis City is a long, dangerous journey and it might rain,” he argued.

“We have the oil can,” Tosh observed. “And you’ve been saying how much you want a heart.”

“But what if the Doctor wouldn’t get me one once we get there,” Owen muttered.

“But he must,” Gwen replied earnestly. “We’ve come such a long way already.”

Suddenly, Jack’s laughter floated through the air. “You call that a long way?” he demanded, appearing just ahead of them on the roof of a small hut. “Why, you’ve just begun.”

“You!” Gwen shouted angrily. 

“Forgotten about me already?” Jack asked. “And here I thought this jaw line was unforgettable. Well, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten about you. Is that my lovely Toshiko? Helping these two along I see.”

“And if I am?” Tosh demanded, staring at him with intense hatred.

“Stay away from them,” Jack warned. “Or I’ll stuff a mattress with you. I always need a good mattress,” he added, winking at Andy. “And is that Owen?” he continued. “Be careful. I’ll melt you for scrap or use you for a beehive. Lots of things I can do with honey.”

“Leave them alone,” Gwen shouted, angrily as she stepped in front of her new friends and Jack.

Jack conjured a ball of fire. “Here, Tosh,” he yelled. “Want to play ball?”

Andy tackled Tosh, moving her away from the path of the fire, which sailed far to her right. As Owen put out the flames, Gwen wheeled on Jack.

“Just go away and leave us alone,” she cried, practically frothing at the mouth.

“Oh, my, are you always this awkward?” Jack crowed. “Happy journey back to Cardiff.” He threw his arms in the air and vanished in a puff of blue smoke, leaving the friends huddled together in stunned silence.

Tosh reacted first. “He doesn’t scare me,” she vowed, looking at Andy and Gwen. “I’ll see you get safely to the Doctor now whether he helps me or not. Stuff a mattress with me, will he?”

Owen nodded. “Count me in,” he said. “We’ll get you to this Doctor bloke. Let him try to make a bee hive or scrap metal out of me. I have an axe and I know what parts he’d miss most.”

Gwen and Andy exchanged glances. “Look,” the Welshman said. “We appreciate the offer, but the Mage is so wicked and he’s already hurt you both so badly. You shouldn’t come with us.”

“We don’t want you to get into more trouble,” Gwen added.

“You don’t think we’re going to let him get away with fireballs and threats of bees, do you?” Tosh demanded.

“Like hell,” Owen snarled. “He messes with one of us, and he messes with all of us.”

“Oh,” Gwen gushed. “I feel like I’ve known you for ages, but I couldn’t have, could I?”

“I don’t see how,” Tosh replied. “But it really doesn’t matter, does it?”

“We know each other now,” Owen said, giving Andy a friendly punch in the arm, which made the other man wince as metal hit skin. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” Andy assured him, rubbing the sore area. “So we’re off then?”

“To Boeshane!” Gwen yelled.

“To Boeshane,” Tosh and Owen cried into the wind, letting it carry their message.

~

“Seriously, talking trees?” Jack looked sceptically at his lover as he reappeared in the woods where Ianto waited. His grief was still palpable, but he was intrigued by the intricacy of Ianto’s plan, at least up to this point. He hadn’t wanted to even attempt a fireball near Tosh, but it had leant authenticity to their confrontation, even if his aim had been deliberately wide.

“You work with what you have,” Ianto snarled. “Don’t mock me. It got them to Owen, didn’t it?”

“I can’t believe he’s helping us,” Jack murmured. “Of everyone, he should hate me for what I did to him. It’s little better than living death.”

“Well, he doesn’t,” Ianto scolded, and then started to concentrate. “They’re off again. Two down and one to go. We’ll have to be leaving soon.”

“You’re still determined to go to Tardis City, aren’t you?” Jack whispered.

“For the final step of the plan to work, I have to,” Ianto told him. “We’ll meet back here when it’s over.”

“Just stay safe,” Jack said, reaching for him. “None of this matters if I lose you.”

“Not going anywhere,” Ianto assured him. “Except far away from here with you.” He placed a soft kiss on Jack’s lips before taking a step back.

Jack watched as the bubble he had designed to help Ianto ‘fly’ appeared, and surrounded his lover, taking him up into the sky and away from the forest. He smiled as he remembered making the bubble for Ianto; he had tried to make it red – because red was Ianto’s colour, after all – but he had messed up somewhere along the line and it had ended up a metallic pink.

The Mage sighed and slid to the ground, leaning back against a tree and pulling his knees up against his chest. Ianto’s bubble was just another mistake in a long line of good intentions gone awry. 

He hadn’t meant for Owen and Tosh to end up the way they had. Owen had been so distraught and buried in grief; he had come to Jack for help to remove the pain. One incorrect word was enough to not only stop the pain, but to remove his heart all together. Turning him into a tin man was the only way Jack had been able to think of that would save his life altogether – well, what was left of it, anyway.

And Tosh… Jack took a shuddering breath in and pulled his legs tighter against his chest. Tommy had died and Tosh was grieving, just like Owen had been. The brilliant technician had lost her job, her money and was about to lose her house when an underground technology dealer approached her. They wanted her to design something that would get around the security systems surrounding the vault in Tardis City. They had promised she would never have to worry about anything again if she did.

Jack still wasn’t sure if it was the promise of money, or grief that had driven his brilliant friend into agreeing; but she had done and set about designing the technology.

Unfortunately, at one point during the design, the Doctor’s officers – UNIT – had gotten wind of what was happening and conducted raids on various areas, trying to smoke out the underground group.

Jack’s fists clenched angrily when he thought about how easily they had given Tosh up; they deserted her like rats on a sinking ship. Tosh had been arrested and thrown in a cell to await trial for treason against the Doctor.

In a desperate bid to save his friend, Jack had tried to make her appear dumb to the jury; he hoped that if she appeared dumb enough, they wouldn’t believe she was capable of committing such an act.

Of course, as with many of Jack’s best intentions, the spell didn’t work quite the way he had meant it to. The spell hadn’t so much as masked Tosh’s smarts; it had completely removed them. She metaphorically had no brain.

When UNIT had discovered what had happened, they immediately knew some kind of magic must be involved and declared that she must be put on trial for attempting to use magic to avoid jail. They put her on trial once more – this time aiming for a death penalty.

Jack hadn’t been about to let his friend die because of something he had done, so he immediately set to work and began creating a spell that would stop her from being hurt by the UNIT officers. 

While that spell didn’t go to plan either, Jack knew standing in a field all day was better than the alternative of death. And Tosh took every available opportunity to assure Jack that she loved him for trying to help and she didn’t resent him for what had happened.

Jack closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his knees. He took in a shuddering breath as sobs began to wrack his body once more. It had been so long since he had cried; but since Gray’s death he didn’t seem to be able to stop.

Everything would have been so much easier – and nothing bad would have happened to any of them – if Rose hadn’t insisted Jack meet with the Doctor.

~

The Tardis City never changed. Jack had been there several times as a child, attempting to see the man who was biologically his father; although, they had always been turned away.

“Come on, Jack!” Ianto’s excited voice cut through the Mage’s thoughts, bringing him back to the present, rather than the rejected visits. “We’ve got three hours before we have to meet Madame Tyler and the Doctor; I want to go shopping.”

Jack laughed and rolled his eyes, following the younger man as he ducked down one of the lanes nearby. The narrow lanes were lined with small boutiques on each side; each of them displaying flashing signs in their windows, reminding Jack that it was getting closer to closer to Christmas and he still hadn’t bought anything for his boyfriend.

Ianto’s arm flew out of the shop he had disappeared into and grabbed hold of Jack, yanking him hard into the shop. “Look!” Ianto exclaimed, indicating around the shop excitedly.

Jack laughed and rolled his eyes. He stuck his hands in his pockets and watched as Ianto moved around the store, looking at each and every single one of the Christmas decorations.

~

Hours later, Jack and Ianto left the shopping street and began the long walk to the centre of Tardis City where Rose was waiting for them with the Doctor.

Martha, the doorwoman on guard to the Doctor’s private quarters, looked them up and down with suspicion, before turning on her heel and disappearing beyond the large doors.

Jack and Ianto looked at each other in confusion. “Does that mean we’re not allowed in?” Ianto asked with uncertainty in his voice.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and was about to answer when the doors opened fully, revealing Martha dressed in blue from head to toe. “The Doctor will see you now,” she announced, taking a step back to allow them access.

Together, the young man slowly entered the city – jumping when the doors closed with a bang behind them.

“Jack?” Martha called before they could move away from the doors. “Be careful,” she whispered, reaching out and squeezing the young Mage’s hand.

Jack smiled back at her and returned the gesture. “We will be,” he assured her. “He doesn’t scare me.”

Martha shook her head and sighed sadly. “It’s not him I’m worried will hurt you,” she murmured, squeezing his hand once more before taking a step back and moving away from them.

Ianto turned and looked at Jack curiously. “What was that about?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Jack murmured, shaking his head and striding away from Ianto, in the direction of the stairs that would take them to the Doctor’s private offices. “Come on, we’ll be late.”

Ianto scowled and stopped in his tracks. “That was nothing ‘nothing’, Jack,” he argued. “What did she mean by ‘be careful’?”

“She’s just paranoid,” Jack dismissed Ianto’s concerns with a wave of his hand. “The Doctor wouldn’t hurt us – me – I know that for certain. He wouldn’t hurt his…” He cut himself off with a firm shake of his head. “Why have you stopped?” he added, turning around when he eventually realised that Ianto wasn’t moving.

Ianto folded his arms across his chest and leant back against the wall. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what you’re hiding from me,” he stated evenly.

Jack scoffed and shook his head. “I’m not hiding anything from you,” he murmured, running his hand over the back of his neck.

“See, now I know you’re lying,” Ianto said. “You only put your hand on the back of your neck if you’re lying. You’ve been acting strange ever since Madame Tyler announced that the Doctor wanted to see us, and I want to know why.”

Jack hesitated and Ianto turned away, crossing the small area and sitting down on a nearby bench. He folded his legs under him and rested his elbows on his knees; clearly he wasn’t planning on moving until Jack told him something. Jack sighed heavily, fighting with his instincts before finally confessing, “He’s my father.”

Ianto snorted with laughter and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right,” he muttered. “If you’re going to lie to me, Jack, try to at least think of a convincing lie.”

Jack sighed impatiently and glanced at his watch; they were getting dangerously close to being late. “I’m not lying. You wanted to know why I didn’t want to come here, and I’m telling you. That man waiting for us – the Doctor – is my father.”

Ianto laughed and rolled his eyes again. He was about to say something sarcastic when he noticed the look of sincerity on Jack’s face. “You’re being serious, aren’t you?” he asked softly. Jack nodded slowly and Ianto’s throat tightened a little. “How…? When… I mean…” He sighed and took a deep breath, “Have you always known?” he finally asked.

Jack nodded. “I’ve known ever since Gray was born,” he confessed. “My mother told me before she died, but I didn’t believe her. After Gray had been born – and Mother had passed away – my maternal grandmother told me she had been telling the truth all along.”

“How did your grandmother know?” Ianto asked softly.

“Grandmother was a nurse,” Jack explained. “She was the only one in our town and took care of everyone; including the pregnant women. When Mother got pregnant, she confessed to my Grandmother that she had been to bed with a man who wasn’t her husband while he had been away on business.”

“Does he know?” Ianto questioned.

“The Doctor? Yeah,” Jack confirmed. “When my mother found out she was pregnant, she knew instantly who the father was and went to tell him immediately. He agreed on her keeping the baby – me – as long as no one found out who the real father was. The Doctor was in the process of building Tardis City and didn’t want anything getting in his way, or for his competitors to find any reason to oppose his leadership. A bastard child would definitely have done that.”

“And Gray’s father…?” Ianto pressed softly, reaching out his hand for his boyfriend’s.

Jack didn’t take his hand; remaining where he was standing about a foot away from Ianto. “He never knew,” he stated. “He died five years ago and to his dying day, never knew that I wasn’t his biological child. Do you remember the little perfume boutique we went past?” he asked.

Ianto nodded; that had been his least favourite store – the smell had given him headache even from the street.

“She used to work there,” Jack continued. “Her favourite was…” He paused, trying to remember the name of the perfume. “I can’t remember. But I do know it came in a bright green bottle; she wore enough of it when she was pregnant with me that people started saying I was going to come out green if she wasn’t careful.”

“Mother used to bring me with her when she was working,” Jack said softly, his eyes distant as he remembered the past. “She used to leave me with the Doctor; in an attempt to try and make us bond. He used to refer to me as his son when we were in private; but every time someone else was around, he would deny me completely and barely acknowledged that I was in the same room.”

“I’m sorry, Jack,” Ianto murmured.

“I didn’t tell you for your sympathy,” Jack scowled.

“That’s not why I’m sorry,” Ianto argued. “I’m sorry I started that fight with you and made you use your powers in front of Madame Tyler. If she hadn’t seen your powers, she would have never told the Doctor, and he wouldn’t have summoned us here.”

Jack smiled and pulled Ianto to his feet. “The Doctor has always known about my powers,” he murmured, glancing around before placing a soft kiss on Ianto’s lips. “Ever since he told me off when I was a kid and I used my magic to let Myfanwy – his pet – loose. He just doesn’t know how powerful I actually am,” he added with a smirk.

~

Jack jerked when he felt someone shaking him, roughly dragging him from his dream. He lifted his head from where it had been resting on his knees and let out an involuntary gasp of shock. 

“Sorry I scared you,” a soft voice whispered; a voice far softer than one would expect from the disfigured woman Jack was looking at.

Jack a hand over his face, trying to brush sleep away. “You didn’t scare me,” he murmured, his voice slightly muffled by his hand.

“Liar,” Janet retorted, a smile in her voice – it was impossible for Jack to tell if she really was smiling or not. “I’m hideous, I know,” she stated, shrugging her shoulders.

Jack lowered his hand and glared at her. “You’re not hideous,” he argued.

Janet reached out a hand and patted him on the arm. “You’re too kind,” she whispered. “But you don’t have to be. I know I’m hideous and I know it’s all Rose’s fault.”

Jack landed heavier than he usually did and glared at Ianto. “You sent Janet to find me?” he snapped, closing the window with a wave of his hand.

Ianto looked up from the thick tome he was reading and returned Jack’s glare, before rolling his eyes. “Weevil’s are the only people who can walk across this kingdom without being noticed,” he stated slowly, marking his page and closing the book. “It’s nightfall and it’s starting to rain.” He pointed out of the window at the droplets that were hitting the glass.

“Do you want to get soaked to the bone?” he added, getting to his feet and moving to turn the fire up; unlike Jack, he didn’t use a spell to ignite it.

Jack still didn’t look impressed that Ianto had convinced Janet to find him, and Ianto sighed. “I couldn’t track you,” he stated in explanation. “You’d fallen asleep, Jack. You know it’s harder to track you when you’re not conscious. I was worried about you. I thought…” He trailed off, not wanting to admit what he had thought.

Rose growled and picked up a nearby vase. With strength the Doctor didn’t think she had, she hurled it across the room, watching as it hit the wall and shattered into thousands of tiny fragments.

“Are you done destroying my office?” the Doctor asked from where he was sitting on an overstuffed couch; a safe distance away from the destruction the blonde was causing.

Rose turned and glared at him. “This shouldn’t have happened. Gray got in the way!” She scowled. “Shame it landed on the wrong Harkness sibling,” she muttered.

Quickly, the Doctor got to his feet; so suddenly he made Rose jump. “Don’t say things like that,” he instructed, his voice hard and cold. “Never say something like that.”

~

As the group progressed towards Tardis City, the terrain changed. The open fields had given way to the orchards where they met the talking trees and Owen. The orchards eventually gave way to a dense, primordial forest.

“Bloody countryside,” Owen muttered. “Never liked the forest.”

“Great career choice, then,” Andy muttered as Gwen pressed closer to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist. “You okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.

“I don’t like it here,” she admitted. “It’s dark and creepy.”

Tosh glanced at her in sympathy. “Well, I don’t know much about it,” she said. “But I think it’ll get darker before it gets lighter.”

“Great,” Gwen muttered, and then froze, nearly cause Andy to stumble. “Wait, you don’t think we’ll meet any wild animals do you?”

“We might,” Owen smirked a bit, exchanging an amused glance with Andy.

“Animals that eat straw?” Tosh asked, sounding more than a little uncertain.

“Some,” the woodsman replied. “But mostly lions, and tigers, and bears.”

“Bloody hell,” Gwen scowled. “When we get back to Cardiff I am never leaving the city.”

“I may never leave the flat,” Andy retorted. “We were in the city when we ended up here.”

“How did you end up here,” Owen started to ask, but was interrupted by a loud growl and snarl from their left. “Bugger me,” he muttered. You’re putting on quite a show, Mickey old boy, he thought, eagerly anticipating Gwen’s reaction.

The Welshwoman did not disappoint him. “What kind of animal is that?” she shrieked, pointing.

“A big one,” Andy commented, concern lacing his voice as he realised that the only weapon they had was Owen’s axe. 

“Don’t be frightened,” Owen said, moving in front of his friends and raising his axe. “I’ll protect you.”

The creature darted across a log and roared again. As it came closer, they realised it was a large lion. It sneered at Owen. “Pull an axe on me, will you?” it demanded. Andy had started to circle around to its other side. The lion wheeled around. “Trying to sneak up on me, are you?” 

“Go away and leave us alone,” Owen ordered. 

The lion snarled. “Scared, huh?” he baited the woodsman. “How long can you stay fresh in that can?”

“Now that’s getting personal,” Tosh said, moving forward to back up Owen.

“That’s it,” Owen quipped to Tosh. “Teach him a lesson.”

The straw woman wheeled around. “What’s wrong with you teaching him a lesson?”

“I hardly know him,” Owen shrugged. 

“Well, I’ll get you anyway,” the lion yelled, leaping at the duo and causing Tosh to stumble as she shrieked. Andy and Owen moved forward to help her, but we held at bay by the snarling animal.

Suddenly, Gwen stepped forward. “Shame on you,” she scolded, slapping the lion hard on the snout.

“What did you do that for?” the lion whined. “I didn’t bite them.”

“But you tried to,” Gwen retorted. “It’s bad enough to pick on a copper and a tin man, but when you pick on defenceless straw woman.”

The lion barely restrained himself from glancing at Tosh and Owen and laughing hysterically. If there was one thing Tosh wasn’t, it was defenceless. Instead, he concentrated on playing his part. “You didn’t have to go and hit me,” he whimpered. “Is my nose bleeding?”

Gwen exchanged bemused glances with her companions. “Well of course not,” she said in exasperation. “My goodness, what a fuss you're making. What do you think will happen when you go around picking on things weaker than you are? Why, you're nothing but a great big coward!”

“You’re right,” Mickey wailed, starting to cry. “I am a coward. I haven’t any courage. I even scare myself. Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven’t slept in weeks.”

“Why don’t you try counting sheep?” Owen suggested helpfully.

“Doesn’t do any good,” Mickey admitted, ducking his head. “I’m scared of them.”

“Oh that’s too bad,” Tosh replied in sympathy. Turning to Gwen and Andy, she said, “Do you think the Doctor could help him, too?”

Gwen pursed her lips in thought. “I don’t see why not,” she decided, looking to Andy for confirmation. 

“What do they call you?” the Welshman asked.

“Mickey,” the lion told him. “Mickey the Meek. I’ve been scared of everything since I was a kit. An evil mage turned me lose in this forest. I was all alone and scared.” Jack had actually freed him and help him become the king he was, but they didn’t need to know that. 

“Him again,” Gwen sighed. “I’m beginning to think Owen isn’t the one without a heart.”

Andy nodded in agreement. “Why don’t you come with us?” he asked Mickey. We’re on our way to see the Doctor to get Owen – this tin guy here – a heart and Tosh – our straw girl – a brain. Gwen and I want his help to get back to Cardiff. I’m sure he could give you some courage.”

Mickey ducked his head. “Wouldn’t you be ashamed to be in the company of a coward? I would.”

“Of course not,” Gwen assured him sympathetically. She clearly felt sorry for him.

“That’s awfully nice of you,” Mickey said appreciatively. “I would.”

“Don’t give it another though,” Andy added, patting him on the shoulder and trying not to smirk when he jumped.

“Perhaps we should get moving,” Tosh suggested loudly. “There’s five of us now, but I still don’t want to meet anything in these woods that’s not as friendly as Mickey here.”

“Good idea, Tosh. We need to get to the Doctor,” Owen agreed, knowing the wind carried their words to Ianto and Jack.

~

On the other side of Boeshane, Jack was watching through a small crystal ball as the group made their way through the forest. They were rapidly approaching Tardis City. He looked up as Ianto appeared in his bubble, looking satisfied.

“They’re making good time,” Jack noted. “I’d have thought they would have been slowed down a bit more by things.”

“Too good,” Ianto muttered, worrying his lip between his teeth. “I’ve started things moving, but all the pieces aren’t in place yet. We need to slow them down a bit.”

“I’m sure I can manage that,” Jack replied saucily, pulling out the Grimore. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Ianto told him, taking the book from him. “No spells. As upset as you are, something is bound to go wrong.”

“Yan-Toe, don’t you trust me?” Jack pouted, trying to mask that his lover’s lack of faith in him and his magic really hurt.

“It’s ‘Ianto,’” the younger mage seethed. “And you know I trust you, but your magic is tied to your emotions, and they’re a mess right now. Let yourself grieve properly before you try anything difficult.”

Jack had to admit Ianto was right. “Okay, then what do we do?” he demanded.

“A little earth magic,” Ianto suggested, producing a small flower.

“Oh, poppies,” Jack breathed. “My mother used to make a sleeping potion from them. They should do nicely.”

“They will,” Ianto told him. “They’ll put them to sleep and slow them down just enough.”

“But how do we wake them?” Jack asked as he started the simple incantation he needed.

“Hello, earth mage,” Ianto reminded him. “A little snow will do the trick. The wet and the cold will snap them right out of it without rusting Owen too badly.”

“Perfect,” Jack sighed, leaning forward to brush his partner’s lips with a kiss.

“What was that for?” Ianto demanded, looking suspicious.

“Not reason,” Jack replied, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly as he set to work.

~

Gradually, the forest began to thin out and the group of friends emerged into a beautiful poppy field. In the distance, they could see a shining city of blue.

“Is that …?” Andy began hesitantly.

“Yes, sir,” Owen told him. “Tardis City.”

“We’re almost there at last,” Tosh sighed, hoping Ianto and Jack had been able to put the rest of the plan in place.

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Gwen gushed. “Just like I knew it would be. He really must be a wonderful Doctor to live in a City like that!”

“Well, come on,” Mickey urged. “What are we waiting for? Let’s hurry.”

“Yes, let’s run,” Gwen suggested. “The sooner we get there, the sooner I get home to Rhys.”

Tosh and Owen rolled their eyes. They’d heard enough about Rhys on this trip to last a lifetime. Both would be thankful to never hear the name again. They also exchanged worried glances, both thinking the same thing. They needed the group to slow down to make sure Jack and Ianto had enough time to do what they needed to.

“Maybe we should go around the field,” Tosh suggested, faking a sneeze. “I’m allergic.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine,” Gwen said over her shoulder, taking off at a run. “Race you, Andy,” she taunted as her friend chased after her.

“Bloody hell,” Owen muttered so that only Tosh and Mickey could hear. He turned to Mickey, repeating, “What are we waiting for? Let’s hurry!” His voice was low and mocking.

“What?” Mickey retorted. “Magical Beefcake and Fairy Boy should have the show on the road by now.”

“We need to be sure,” Tosh reminded him. “Or all of this is for nothing.”

“Blimey,” Mickey swore. “Let’s catch up. Maybe I can fake a thorn in my paw or something.” He took off after Gwen and Andy.

“Original,” Owen sighed, shaking his head and moving to follow.

“If it gets the job done, I don’t care,” Tosh told him. “This all has to go like clockwork.”

“It will, luv,” the woodsman assured her as they approached the others. “It will”

Gwen had come to a stop and was looking a bit pale. Andy was glancing at her worriedly. “You okay, Cooper?” he demanded.

“I …” Gwen stammered, feeling dizzy. “What’s happening? What is it? I can’t run anymore. I’m so sleepy.”

“Give me your hand,” Andy urged. “I’ll pull you.”

Tosh, Owen, and Mickey exchanged glances. This was Jack’s doing. It had to be. 

“Please, Andy,” Gwen begged. “I have to rest for just a minute.” She slumped down into the poppies.

“See here,” Andy spoke sharply. “You can’t rest now. We’re nearly there!” His rebuke was interrupted by a huge yawn. “Maybe we’ll just rest for a minute,” he murmured, joining Gwen on the ground.

“What now?” Mickey demanded. “Andy? Gwen? You can’t sleep here. You can’t sleep in the middle of a field.” He yawned, and then looked at Tosh and Owen. “Come to think of it, forty winks wouldn’t be so bad. Why am I so sleepy?”

“It has to be Jack,” Tosh told him. “Lie down and rest. You’ll be fine. I’m sure its part of the plan.”

“Gonna have a word or five with that mage-o-matic,” Mickey sighed as he too slumped into the poppies.

“What do we do now?” Owen wondered. “Should we try to carry them?”

“I don’t think we could,” Tosh replied. “This is a spell. We’d best wait it out. Jack and Ianto will sort it when it’s time.”

“You have a lot of faith in them,” Owen grumbled, clearly uncertain.

“Complete faith,” Tosh told him. “Jack saved me even if it didn’t work out quite as he planned. He saved you, too. Don’t forget that.”

“And Ianto?” Owen demanded. “He’s never impressed me much.”

“Don’t dismiss him,” Tosh warned. “He’s far more clever than he seems.” At that moment, a light snow began to fall. “See, I told you. This is his magic.”

“Great, just great,” Owen snarled. “Bloody idiot is going to rust me again.”

“Not much,” Tosh told him. “Just enough not to make them suspicious. Don’t worry, as soon as they wake up I’ll sort you.”

“Thanks, Tosh,” Owen replied, even as he felt his joints stiffening. “You’re really brilliant, you know?”

“I know,” Tosh assured him. “Just don’t tell them that,” she added, indicating Gwen and Andy.

“Won’t,” Owen promised as his jaw rusted shut again.

Sitting on the ground at the woodsman’s feet, Tosh settled in to wait. Her straw kept her warm, but the solitude allowed her too much time to think about what could go wrong. The snow continued to fall and after a while Andy, Gwen, and Mickey were stirring. “Oh look,” Gwen mused. “It’s snowing.”

“That’s what woke you up,” Tosh told her.

“Lovely weather we’re having,” Mickey groused as he shook his mane.

“Oi, watch it mate,” Andy snarled, sitting up and shaking the snow from his hair. “Alright there Tosh?”

“A straw woman doesn’t need to breathe and doesn’t get cold,” Tosh reminded him. “But Owen,” she gestured.

“Oh, he’s rusted again,” Gwen cried, climbing to her feet. “Quick, give me the oil can.”

Andy handed it over, standing back as Gwen oiled the woodsman’s joints.

“There you go,” the Welshwoman said as Owen began to move. “Right as rain … ermm sorry.”

Owen scowled at her. “Thanks. Let’s get out of here”

“Oh let’s,” Gwen agreed. “Look, Tardis City is closer and prettier than ever.”

~

“That’s it then,” Jack sighed as they watched the group resume their journey. “We’ve done all we can.”

“It’s time for you to go,” Ianto told him softly.

“Tardis City, here I come,” Jack muttered, then turned and pulled Ianto into a long, lingering kiss. “Stay safe.”

“I will,” Ianto promised. “We’ll meet where we planned.”

“You’d better be there, Ianto Jones,” Jack warned him. “Or I will turn Boeshane inside out to find you.”

“I’ll be there,” his lover swore. “Then we put an end to all of this once and for all.”

~

As the group approached Tardis city, a fierce row broke out over who was going to ring the bell. 

“You started this,” Andy told Gwen. He was tired, grouchy, dirty, and more than ready for a pint. He was also seriously contemplating asking for a new partner. Gwen might be a looker, but she got him into more trouble than she was worth. “You do it!”

“Me?” Gwen squeaked at her partner, looking annoyed.. “What ever happened to chivalry?”

Owen snorted. “I’ll show you chivalry. By all means, ladies first,” he said, indicating the door.

“Stop being a prat and ring the bell,” Gwen ordered, glaring at the tin man.

“Like hell,” Owen swore. “Mage’s don’t worry me, but I’m not ringing a bell on a door that’s about as inviting as my mother on holiday. Let the fur ball here do it!”

“Me?” Mickey yelped. “Forget it! No courage, remember?”

“Oh for the love of Rassillion,” Tosh sighed. Marching up to the imposing entrance to Tardis City, she rang the bell them jumped back as a little hatch opened and a dark-skinned woman dressed all in blue stuck her head out.

“Who rang that bell?” Martha demanded.

“We did,” Gwen replied defiantly.

Martha rolled her eyes. “Can’t you read?” she asked in exasperation.

“Ermm, read what?” Andy responded, looking around.

“The notice,” Martha emphasised impatiently.

“Sorry, lady,” Owen muttered. “No notice here.”

“It’s on the bloody door,” Martha snarled. “Plain as the nose on my face. Right here.” She pointed to a place below the little hatch, then scowled when she realised it was empty. “Oh,” she muttered, vanishing back through the hatch. She returned, hung out a small sign, then disappeared back inside, closing the small opening with a resounding thud.

Exchanging glances, the small group moved forward to read the message. “Bell out of order. Please knock,” they said in unison. 

Tosh held up her hand. “Don’t even start,” she said, knocking loudly.

Martha appeared again. “Well, that’s more like it,” she said. “Now state your business,” she added firmly. 

“We’re here to see the Doctor,” Gwen told her.

“You know, the Doctor of Boeshane,” Andy added helpfully.

“Of course I know!” Martha retorted irritably. “No one ever sees him, well no one except… Of course she gets to see him. Good old Rose. Oh, never mind. You can’t see him and that’s that.”

“But we have to see him,” Gwen pouted. “We’ve come such a long way.”

“Have you now,” Martha said sympathetically, trying not to smirk as Tosh and Owen rolled their eyes behind Gwen’s back. She was following Ianto’s instructions not to make this too easy, but she could tell her friends were tired. Still, she had to make sure Gwen still had what Jack and Ianto were after. “Oh, you’re wasting my time. You can’t see him. Full stop.”

“I have to see him,” Gwen pleaded. “Ianto, the Mage of the North sent me.”

“Prove it,” Martha challenged, trying not to sound too eager.

“She’s wearing the Vortex Manipulator he gave her,” Tosh pointed out, nodding slightly at Martha to confirm that the Welshwoman still had the device.

From her perch, Martha looked down. “Well, so she is,” she replied with a welcoming smile. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place? That’s a horse of a different colour. Come on in.”

The huge doors swung open and the group entered the enchanting city. They looked around, awe-struck. “It’s bigger on the inside,” the chorused.

“If I had a quid for every time someone said that, then I wouldn’t need this lousy job,” Martha muttered. “Cabby!” She called.

A horse-drawn carriage pulled up to the entrance. “Cabby, Cabby,” the driver called. “Wilf’s the name. Take you any place in Tardis City I can.”

“Will you take us to see the Doctor?” Gwen asked, eyeing the old man with concern.

“The Doctor?” Wilf hissed. “Why I can’t,” he began, and then stopped. “But you’re Gwen and Andy.”

“How did you know that?” Andy demanded, eyebrows raised to his hairline.

“Well, my girl Donna told me,” Wilf said with pride. “My granddaughter. Mayor of Munchkin City, she is.”

“Oh,” Gwen smiled. “I remember her.”

“Well get in. Get in,” Wilf gestured. “I’ll take you to the Doctor, but first I’ll take you to a little place where you can tidy up a bit, no?”

“Oh yes, please,” Gwen sighed. “We’ve been travelling such a long time. We fell so messy … ermm, what kind of horse is that? She asked, staring at the colourful equine. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“No, and never will again,” Wilf told her. “He’s that horse of a different colour you hear about.” He clucked and the carriage began to move. Softly then with more gusto, he started to sing. “ Ha - ha - ha - Ho - ho - ho - And a couple of tra - la - las. That's how we laugh the day away In the Merry Old Land of Boeshane. Bzz -bzz - bzz - Chirp - Chirp - Chirp - And a couple of la -di.... das -That's how the crickets crick all day In the Merry Old Land of Boeshane!”

“Wilf,” Andy called, grimacing as the others cringed and Mickey covered his ears. “I’ll give you an extra twenty quid if you don’t sing another note.”

“Aye,” Wilf replied, falling silent. Get’s them every time, he thought with a smile.

~

Wilf dropped them at a combination stylist, groomer, and machinist. Within a couple of hours, they were clean, well-dressed, and eager to finally see the Doctor. With directions from the salon owner, they began to walk towards the centre of the city. Suddenly, people around them began to run and scream, pointing skyward.

“Wh … wh…wh …at is it?” Mickey stammered, teeth chattering.

“It’s the Mage,” Gwen shouted. “He’s followed us here.”

“Can’t that man take no for an answer?” Andy demanded, causing Owen to barely suppress his laughter. No and Jack Harkness were not acquainted.

Jack hovered over the city, coat billowing. Using his finger like a pen, he wrote across the sky in bold letters, “Surrender Gwen or die!”

“But who is Gwen?” demanded one onlooker. 

“The Doctor will explain it,” suggested another.

“To the Doctor,” the crowd cried, moving en masse towards the palace. 

Tosh, Owen, and Mickey exchanged glances with Gwen and Andy. “What should we do?” The Welshwoman asked.

Tosh barely suppressed the urge to strange the girl. She was one of the most annoying people the straw woman had ever met, and she’d known Owen for years. “Perhaps we’d better hurry if we’re going to see the Doctor.”

They practically ran to the palace to find Martha at the door, keeping a large crowd at bay. “Now just stop that,” she called. “Everything is fine. The Great and Powerful Doctor and Madame Tyler have everything under control.” Not bloody likely, she thought, as she continued. “You can all go home. There’s nothing to worry about.” As the crowd continued to mill about, Martha spoke more firmly. “Go on home now, I said,” she repeated, pleased as people started to obey.

The group approached her. “Please, Ma’am,” Andy said with a charming smile. “We need to see the Doctor right away, all five of us.”

“I’m sorry,” Martha said softly, not meeting Owen’s, Tosh’s, or Mickey’s eyes. “Word has just come from Madame Tyler. No one sees the Doctor. Not now.”

“Oh but we must,” Gwen pleaded, tears forming.

“I’m sorry,” Martha repeated. She genuinely was. She wanted to help Jack and Ianto – and by extension Tosh, Mickey, and Owen – but there was little she could do. Rose wielded a power over the Doctor that she never had. “Their in conference about this trouble with the Mage.”

“But it’s very important,” Gwen insisted, looking at Martha stubbornly and refusing to back down.

“I can’t,” Martha told her, silently imploring Owen, Tosh, and Mickey to understand as she glanced at the other guards. She would take the risk for herself, but she had her family to worry about.

Tosh at least understood. Smiling, she announced loudly, “But she’s Gwen!”

The guards standing near Martha stopped talking. One ran over to her, whispered in her ear, and pointed upward. “The Mage’s Gwen? Well, why didn’t you say so?” the dark skinned woman demanded. “Just wait here. I’ll announce you at once!”

The group waited impatiently for Martha to return. Gwen started to pace, and Mickey began chewing his tail until Owen slapped it out of his paw with his hand, causing the lion to yelp.

It was several minutes before Martha reappeared, looking conflicted. The Doctor had wanted to see the group, but Rose had been insistent. As he always did, he gave in. “Go home,” she told them. “The Doctor says go away.”

Exchanging a shocked look with Owen, Tosh sighed “Looks like we came all this way for nothing.”

“Oh, I was so happy,” Gwen wailed. “I thought I was on my way home to Rhys.”

“Don’t cry, Gwen,” Andy said as he comforted her with his arm around her shoulder.

“Would it help if I roared?” Mickey asked timidly.

“At who?” Tosh demanded, looking crestfallen

“Rhys was so good to me,” Gwen muttered. “I never appreciated it. I think he was going to propose. Now, I’ll never see him again.” She started to sob as Andy cradled her against his chest. “I’ll never forgive myself. Never.”

Behind them, Martha was tearing up. “Oh please don’t cry,” she begged. “I’ll get you into the Doctor somehow.” Rose be damned, she thought. “Come on. I’ve got a fiancé myself and he’d go spare if I went missing.”

The group followed Martha down a long, echoing hallway. Several times, Mickey jumped at the noise. At one point, he stopped dead. “Tosh,” he whispered loudly. “Something pulled my tail.”

Rolling her eyes, Tosh pulled the appendage from his fingers. “You did it yourself,” she hissed quietly. “Now buck up. Jack and Ianto are counting on us.”

“Come on!” Gwen called back as the two lagged behind. “We’ll find the Doctor soon.”

The group entered a large room where smoke billowed. A disembodied voice demanded, “Who are you?”

“Oh, look at that,” Mickey whimpered. “I want to go home. Tell me when it’s over.”

“I am the Doctor of Boeshane, the Great and Powerful,” the voice said. “Who are you?”

The friends were trembling. Tosh pushed Gwen forward. “If you please,” the Welshwoman stammered. “I’m Gwen, the small and meek. We’ve come to ask you ...”

“Silence!” the voice bellowed, causing the friends to jump and cling together. “I know why you have come. Step forward.”

Together, the group moved closer to the throne where the smoke and the sound of the voice originated. 

“Owen, Tosh, Mickey, you have the gaul to ask things of me? Had you come to me and not gone to the Mage, you’d not be in this state. Stand back,” the Doctor ordered. “Gwen, Andy,” he called. 

Holding hands, Gwen and Andy stepped forward. “Yes, sir, Doctor, sir,” Gwen rambled.

“Be quiet!” the Doctor shouted. “You want passage home? What do you offer me in return?”

“Ermmm,” Andy began. “We have nothing, sir.”

“You offer me trouble,” the Doctor told them. A window above them opened and they could see the Mage circling the city again, writing threats towards Gwen.

“I’m sorry,” Gwen cried. “I didn’t mean to kill his brother or take this.” She gestured with the wrist strap. “We were trapped in the house and the cyclone brought us here. We didn’t come on purpose.”

“Quiet!” The Doctor roared. “You’ve angered the Mage now I have more problems to deal with. Be gone with you, all of you. I don’t have time for your petty problems.”

~

As the group left, the Doctor slumped against the wall of his hiding space. Behind him, he heard the door open but he didn’t turn; he knew who had just entered the room. “Your plan backfired,” he stated, never tearing his eyes away from Jack as he turned and flew away.

“There’s still time for things to go to plan,” Rose argued, closing the door behind her.

The Doctor snorted with laughter. “Your last scheme didn’t go well, did it?” he asked. “If anything I’d say you managed to make Jack angrier.” He indicated to the sky outside the window.

Rose crossed the room and leant next to the Doctor, staring out at the sky. “He’s grieving. When he…”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Oh, wake up, Rose,” he snapped, finally losing his legendary temper. “Jack isn’t grieving. He’s furious. That house you conjured up killed his brother. Gray has always been the one person Jack looked to for approval. Not me; not his step-father; Gray.”

He looked back at the sky; the words Jack had written were fading now, but they were still legible. “Gwen arrived in the house that killed Gray; he’s never going to get close to her. You should quit while you’re ahead. If Jack finds out you played any part in this, you’ll be the first person he’ll go after. You saw how volatile he is when he stormed out of here after you’d tricked him into releasing those people.”

“They’re not people,” Rose insisted. “They’re Weevils.”

“But they were people once,” the Doctor argued. “Until you got tired of them being more attractive than you and cursed them. If you hadn’t insisted in bringing Jack here none of this would have happened.”

Rose put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Don’t blame me for the problems you have with your son.” She spat the last word out as though it were something vile tasting in her mouth.

“You tricked him!” the Doctor hissed; the sound loud in the quiet room. “He thought he was helping people who had been disfigured since birth. You were the one that cursed them!”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “All Jack was trying to do was free them,” he said softly. “He just wanted to help.” He turned away from Rose before she could say another word, clearly dismissing her.

After a moment’s silence, she left the room as a plan formed in her mind.

~

“I can’t believe he wouldn’t help us,” Gwen nearly shouted as they made their way down the corridor. “Great and powerful! Bollocks.”

“You know,” Owen observed. “For a lovely girl, you have a filthy mouth.”

“No shit,” Gwen retorted as they turned down the hallway they’d entered through just moments before.

“Wait,” a voice called. “Please wait.” A young blonde woman approached them. “I’m Madame Rose Tyler, the Doctor’s Companion. I have a proposition for you.”

“We’re listening,” Tosh said with narrowed eyes. This wasn’t quite going according to plan so they had to be careful.

“The Doctor can be stubborn,” Rose told them with false sympathy. “I’m sorry he was rude to you. This business with his … with the Mage is making him tetchy. He listens to me. I’ll talk to him, but I need something from you in return.”

“Anything,” Gwen promised. “Anything at all.”

“Gwen,” Andy warned. “Be careful.”

“What is it you want?” Owen demanded, glaring at the woman who’d caused them all such grief.

“This business with the Mage needs to end,” Rose told them. “Put a stop to him and bring me his coat. Then, I’ll convince the Doctor to help you.”

“But … I’ve never seen him without the coat,” Gwen muttered. “How do I get it from him?”

“I don’t care,” Rose told them as she turned to leave. “Just do it or don’t come back.”

Once she was gone, the group exchanged glances. “Okay, how do we defrock a mage?” Andy muttered.

“There’s no way to get that coat away from him,” Owen proclaimed. “Bet he even sleeps in it.” I know he does other things, the woodsman mused, thinking of catching Jack and Ianto using the coat as a blanket.

“Nothing unless... unless... unless....” Mickey began to stammer.

“Unless what?” Gwen demanded. “Spit it out.”

“Unlesswekillhim,” Mickey replied in a rush.

“We can’t,” Gwen replied, appalled. “I don’t even kill spiders in the bath.”

“Spiders generally aren’t trying to kill you,” Andy observed. “I don’t like this. How do we even find him?”

“The people say he lives in a large castle – Torchwood Castle – not far from here. They’ve seen him come and go through the windows,” Tosh told them. “The castle lies inside the Haunted Forest. Its warded by magic and guarded by these creatures called Weevils. Rumour has it that they were humans once, but that Jack transformed them into monsters for insulting him.” She managed not to shake her head at the lie. She knew Rose had changed those poor people; Jack had only tried to free them. If the plan worked, they might be able to get a hold of Rose’s spell book and reverse the damage that she had done.

“I’ve guess we’ve got to go there then,” Gwen sighed. “But we can’t kill him. It would be inhuman.”

“We may not have a choice,” Owen stated, metal creaking as he shook his head. “He’ll likely as soon kill us if we don’t get him first.”

Andy pursed his lips. “How do you even kill a Mage?”

Tosh looked deep in thought. “Well, I’m not too smart about such matters, but I’ve heard he’s so evil that a bucket of water will kill him. People will believe anything.”

“That’s absurd!” Gwen sputtered. “Water can’t kill, can it?”

“Hell, Gwen,” Andy retorted. “Where we come from people don’t fly, scarecrows don’t need brains, and lions don’t talk. Weirdest thing we deal with in a day is old Mr. Manger swearing there are time-travelling aliens living in the city.”

Looking defeated, Gwen glanced at her friends. “I guess we don’t have a choice,” she decided. “We’re off to Torchwood Castle. If we can’t subdue the Mage, we’ll do what we have to. Too much is at stake. Agreed?” she asked.

The five friends nodded then moved down the hallway, plotting what to do next. From the shadows, Martha was listening. She ran to get word to Ianto that everything was unfolding according to his plan.

~

The Haunted Forest had earned its name. It was dark, creepy, and desolate. As they approached the Castle, Owe noticed a series of signs. “I’d turn back if I were you,” he read. “J. Harkness, WMW.”

“WMW?” Gwen asked, eyebrows raised.

“Wicked Mage of the West,” Tosh explained as Mickey started to whimper again. “Will you shut up?”

“Maybe we should do as it says and go back,” the lion suggested.

“No!” Gwen replied. “I’ve come this far. I have to see it through.”

“Me too,” Andy replied. “Being that we’re partners and all.”

“And we’ll be with you, won’t we?” Tosh said pointedly to Mickey and Owen.

“Yeah, sure,” Owen replied resolutely.

“Of course,” Mickey said, sounding more uncertain.

“Let’s get a move on,” Andy suggested. “It’ll be dark soon. I do not want to be here at night.

As they others agreed, they made their way deeper into the forest and towards the Castle.

“You know something?” Tosh whispered. “I believe there are spooks around here.”

Owen snorted. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Don’t you believe in Spooks?” Mickey asked timidly.

“You know, Spooky Dos,” Andy added, waggling his fingers.

“Oh course not!” Owen stated, just as an unforeseen force seemed to knock him to the ground. 

“Oh, oh,” the others called as they ran to help him.

“Are you okay?” Gwen demanded.

Behind them, Mickey began to repeat’ “I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks. I do believe in spooks.”

Not far away, in the main hall of the Castle, Jack watched the scene unfold. “Not spooks, my friend. Just a little magic to make things more real.” He looked towards one of the Weevils who was waiting for his orders. “Janet, take the others. Go into the forest and bring them here. Don’t hurt any of them.” The Weevil grunted something. “No, not even that girl and her friend. None of this was their fault. They were victims, too. Maybe, when this is over, we can get them safely home. They’ll give you no trouble. Just be careful of the Vortex Manipulator.”

As Jack watched, more of his magical traps were sprung. Owen fell down several more times, a small bird nested in Mickey’s mane, Tosh was dangled in the air, and trees made a grab for Andy and Gwen. Jack would have found the situation hilarious if the outcome was not so potentially deadly. “Ianto,” he sighed both in longing and concern. “I hope you know what you’re doing’”

Just as the group beat back the last tree, the Weevils descended. Gwen caught site of them first and screamed. “What the bloody hell are those?”

“Weevils,” Tosh shouted, trying to beat one of the creatures back while preventing it’s sharp teeth from tearing at her straw.

“What’s that when it’s at home?” Andy demanded as he pulled a Weevil off Gwen.

“The Mage’s minions,” Owen told them just as one of the beings made a grab for him and he kicked it. His metal foot made a sickening thud as it connected with flesh. “Rumour is they used to be human,” he reminded them, recalling their earlier conversation in Tardis City. “Go away now,” he shouted as Mickey used a tree branch to drive a group of the Weevils back.

Gwen screamed as a Weevil knocked Andy back then pinned her to the ground, it’s teeth mere inches from her neck.

“No!” Jack shouted onto the wind. “Don’t hurt them. It’s not their fault.”

As Owen, Tosh, Andy, and Mickey went to help Gwen, they found their way blocked by a large Weevil. The second creature pulled the first off Gwen and flung him to the side, before snarling orders at the rest.

The remaining Weevils circled the four friends as the leader grabbed Gwen.

Seeing this, Jack utter a quick spell that transported Janet, Gwen, and the other Weevils back to the Castle.

“What happened?” Owen demanded.

“What do you think?” Andy shouted. “They took her.”

“But how did they do that?” Tosh wondered, perplexed. What was Jack playing at?

“Oh, poor Gwen,” Mickey fretted. “We may never see her again.”

“Not bloody likely,” Andy swore, turning in the direction of the Castle.

“Pull yourself together,” Owen told Mickey firmly. “We’ve got to find Gwen.”

“Where do you think they took her?” Andy asked as they started moving through the forest again.

“Only one place,” Tosh sighed. “They took her to the Mage in Torchwood Castle.”

“Well, then,” Andy stated. “That’s where we’re going.”

“Lead on,” Owen gestured as Tosh and Mickey nodded.

~

In the main hall of Torchwood Castle, Gwen sat huddled, crying where the Weevil had dumped her. 

“What an unexpected pleasure,” Jack crowed from the shadows. “How nice to see you again, Gwen. It’s so kind of you to visit me in my loneliness and bereavement. Of course, I wouldn’t be mourning my brother but for you.”

“What are you going to do with me?” Gwen demanded, rising to her feet. “Where are my friends?”

“All in good time,” Jack assured her. “All in good time.”

“I asked you where my friends are,” Gwen shouted, advancing on the Mage menacingly. “Tell me.”

“Of course I will,” Jack whispered, reaching out and tracing his finger gently along Gwen’s cheek. “As soon as you give me that Vortex Manipulator.”

“But… but,” Gwen stammered. “The Mage of the North told me not to.”

“Bloody man needs to mind his own business,” Jack snarled. “If you won’t give it to me, you’ll never see your friends again.” He turned to the Weevils. “Deal with them.”

“No!” Gwen screamed, crying and pulling at the Mage’s arm. “No, please. You can have the damned thing, just don’t hurt my friends.”

“See, now you’re being reasonable,” Jack soothed, stroking at Gwen’s hair. He began to undo the wrist strap and jumped back as it shocked him. “Son of a …” he shouted, shaking his singed fingers.

“I’m sorry,” Gwen gasped. “I didn’t do it. I promise. Please don’t hurt my friends.”

“Of course, you didn’t do it, you stupid child,” he shouted. “I should have remembered. I can’t get that from you while you’re still alive.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Gwen begged. “Please, don’t hurt me. I just want to go home.”

“What do you think I’m going to do you?” Jack demanded. “But it’s not the what that worries me. It’s the how. These things must be done delicately. When I’m rushed, things don’t go so well. You’ve seen Tosh, Owen, and the Weevils. It won’t do to leave you that way. I need that Vortex Manipulator.”

“Oh you horrible, horrible, man,” Gwen yelled, kicking at Jack with all of her might. “You’re a monster.”

“Stop that,” Jack cried, restraining the enraged woman. “You’ve been more trouble to me than you’re worth, one way or another. It’ll all be over soon,” he promised. Let this work, he thought. Please be right, Ianto. “Do you see this?” he asked, turning over a large hour glass. “This is how much longer you have to live,” he told her, triumph in his voice. “It isn’t long, you bitch. It isn’t long at all. I can’t wait forever to get that Vortex Manipulator.” He turned with a swirl of his coat and stormed from the room, leaving Gwen sobbing as she watched the sand trickle through the hour glass. “I’ll never get home to Rhys now,” she wept, feeling hopeless.

~

Below the Castle, Andy, Tosh, Owen and Mickey were making their way up the rocky face of the cliff. At one point, Owen started to slip. He grabbed Mickey’s tail, causing the lion to shriek, “Ow, ow, ow. I hope my strength holds out,” he moaned.

“I hope your tail holds out,” Owen growled as Tosh and Andy grabbed him and hauled him upward.

They had reached the summit and had their first good look at Torchwood Castle, an imposing structure of stone. “We have to get Gwen out of there,” Andy declared. “I can’t bear to think of her in that horrible place.”

“Oh, who’s that?” Mickey muttered, seeing a platoon of the Mage’s Weevil guards.

“Guards,” Owen muttered. “How are we going to get past them?”

“I’ve got a plan to get in there,” Tosh told them.

“Oh, she’s got a plan,” Mickey sighed. “Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”

“And you’re going to lead us,” Tosh informed the lion.

“Of course,” Mickey said. “Wait? What?”

“You’re going to get us in there and we’re going to get Gwen out,” Tosh said firmly.

“I’m going to get her out?” Mickey asked incredulously.

“Yes, you are,” Tosh told him. 

“All right, I’ll go in there for Gwen,” Mickey decided. “Wicked Mage or no Wicked Mage. Guards or no guards. I’ll tear the apart,” Mickey vowed. “I may not come out alive, but I’m going in there. There’s only one thing I want you all to do.”

“What’s that?” Owen asked, a bit awed.

“Talk me out of it!” Mickey wailed, turning away from the Castle.

“Oh no you don’t,” Owen said, pulling him back.

“Stop,” Andy ordered, using his cop voice as Tosh helped Owen hold Mickey.

“Now wait a minute,” Mickey pleaded. “Just a minute.”

“No,” Tosh stated. 

“Up you go,” Owen ordered. “Now!”

Reluctantly, Mickey headed towards the rear of the guard column with the others following.

~

In the Castle great room, Gwen watched through the Mage’s crystal ball as images of Cardiff and Rhys appeared. “Oh Rhys,” she whispered. “I’m frightened. I’m so frightened.”

Rhys was searching for her. She could hear him calling. “Gwen?” he yelled. “Gwennie, girl. Where are you?”

“I’m here in Boeshane, Rhys,” Gwen replied. “I’m locked up in the Mage’s castle. I’m trying to get back to you.” The image started to fade. “Don’t go, Rhys. Please come back.”

Jack’s face filled the crystal as he mocked her. “Don’t go, Rhys. Please come back.”

“Oh shut up,” Gwen hissed, throwing a cloth from a nearby table over the crystal and stomping her foot. “There has to be a way out of here,” she muttered.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion from outside the door. “Gwen, are you in there?” Tosh called.

“It’s us!” Mickey added.

“Yes! It’s me!” Gwen shouted. “That bastard has locked me in here. I knew you’d get here in time.”

Outside the door, the others whispered excitedly. They were dressed in uniforms taken from members of the guard that they had subdued. “Look, it’s her,” Mickey said. “We have to get her out. Together now.”

With all their strength, they pushed against the door, which failed to give way under their combined assault. 

“Oh hurry,” Gwen pleaded. “The hour glass is almost empty.”

“Stand back!” Owen ordered. Using his axe he chopped at the door until it gave way. 

Gwen launched herself at them, ending up in Andy’s arms. “Oh, Andy! Tosh. Owen. Mickey. Thank goodness,” she breathed.

“Did they hurt you?” Mickey demanded, sounding fierce.

“No,” Gwen told them. “I knew you come. I knew it.”

“Hurry,” Tosh said impatiently. “We’ve no time to lose.”

They fled out into the corridor and down the steps, only to be confronted by Jack and his Weevil guards.

“Going so soon?” the Mage asked. “Why, the party’s just starting. After them,” he ordered. 

The Weevils advanced, backing the group against the wall. “Trapped like mice… ermm rats,” Mickey wailed.

“Oh don’t hurt them right away,” Jack purred, advancing on the group. “We’ll let them think about it a little first. Ring around the rosey,” he taunted. “A pocket full of Weevils. You thought you’d get away, didn’t you? Well, I’m going to start on you right here, one after the other.”

Before him, the group was trembling. Gwen slipped her hand into Andy’s, squeezing it, before saying. “Just let them go. I’ll give you what you want.”

“Oh how brave,” Jack gushed. “How noble. How utterly pointless. All of you have driven me spare. I’ll take great pleasure in this, trust me.” Reaching out, he grabbed a torch. “How’s a little flame, Tosh? You always were a spitfire.”

“No, no,” Tosh wailed in panic as Jack ignited her clothing. “Help! I’m burning.”

“Leave her alone,” Gwen shouted, grabbing a nearby bucket of water and tossing it on Tosh. Some of it landed on Jack, who hissed in pain.

“You bitch!” He cried. “You cursed bitch. Look what you’ve done.”

“Oh my God,” Andy muttered. “They were right.”

The group watched in horror as the water began to burn Jack and he started to melt before their eyes, smoke rising from his disintegrating body. “I can’t believe someone like you could destroy me. I’m going. What a world,” he whispered, his voice fading as his body dissipated, leaving only his coat behind.

Around them, the Weevils grunted. “You’ve killed him,” the leader, Janet, said in wonder. “He’s dead.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Gwen jabbered, pointing at Tosh. “She was on fire. I couldn’t let her die.”

“Hail to Gwen,” Janet called. “The Wicked Mage is dead.”

“You mean you’re happy about this?” Gwen stammered, glancing at her friends. They all looked as shocked as she did.

“Oh very happy,” Janet assured her. “When he died, you broke the spell that bound us to him. We can speak now. We’re well rid of him. Always prancing around in that damn coat.”

“The coat!” Gwen cried, remembering Rose’s offer. “May we have it?”

Janet picked it up and handed it to her. “Please, take it with you. We’ll arrange an escort for you back to Tardis City.”

~

When they arrived back at Tardis City, a celebration was in full swing. People were dancing in the streets, celebrating the Mage’s demise. Martha met them at the gate and escorted them to the throne room. She cast covert glances at Mickey, Owen, and Tosh. Her eyes begged them for answers, but they could only shake their heads. They had no idea if this was part of the plan or not. They had to wait for Ianto to arrive.

In the throne room, the Doctor’s voice boomed out. “What are you doing back here?” he demanded.

“Please, sir,” Gwen said as she moved forward and bowed, laying the coat in front of the throne. “We brought you the coat of the Wicked Mage of the West. We melted him.”

“You what?” the Doctor roared, a hitch in his voice. “No! What have you done?”

“We did what Madame Tyler asked,” Tosh told him. “She said if we defeated the Mage and brought you his coat, she would convince you to help us.”

“No, no, no,” the Doctor murmured, his voice sounding hollow and far less powerful. “Martha, find Rose and bring her to me. She has to answer for this.”

“I don’t understand,” Gwen demanded. “We thought the Mage was causing you trouble. We were trying to help.”

“Help!” the Doctor shrieked. “Oh, child. You can’t understand what you’ve done, but it’s not your fault. Not really. You’ve been manipulated by Rose from the beginning. She brought you here as a gift for the Mage, to restore his humanity.”

“To what?” Gwen asked incredulously. “But how?”

“By making him fall in love with you,” the Doctor replied sadly. “But it all went wrong from the start. When the house landed on Gray, you killed the only thing that Jack loved. His brother was his life. He could never love you after that, so Rose turned you into a weapon to kill my son.”

“Your what?” Gwen, Tosh, Owen, Andy, and Mickey said at once as Martha led Rose into the throne room.

“Is it true?” Rose asked gleefully. “Is he dead?”

“Yes,” Gwen replied in a choked voice. “I threw water on him and he melted.”

“You liquidated him, huh?” Rose crowed. “Oh, this is marvellous.”

“How can you say that?” Owen demanded. “You used us.”

“No one mourns the wicked,” Rose told them. “We’re all better off without him.”

“You have no idea what you’ve done!” the Doctor yelled. “It was bad enough when I knew you planned to manipulate those people. I knew you wanted him dead, but I never thought you’d kill him once you knew he was my son and what he meant to me. I thought you would stop when I asked you to, but it wasn’t enough. I failed Jack, again, but I can at least make sure you pay for it. Martha, arrest Madame Tyler for the murder of Jack Harkness, the Mage of the West and my son and heir.”

“No!” Rosh shrieked. “You can’t do that! You can’t!”

“I am the Doctor of Boeshane,” the voice boomed. “I can do anything.”

“You’re a fraud,” Rose snarled, pulling back the curtain to reveal the true form of the Doctor. Gwen and the others were shocked to see a lanky, brown-haired man working what appeared to be a series of controls and speaking into a microphone.

“Who are you?” Gwen demanded, looking horrified.

“I’m the Doctor,” the man replied. “The Doctor of Boeshane. I’m what you see. The rest is just affectation. I have no real power. Only Jack ever did.”

“See,” Rose shouted. “A fraud. I told you.”

“Shut up,” the Doctor told her. He looked at Martha and the others. “I don’t care what you do to me. Just make sure she pays for Jack’s death.”

“Oh, she will,” Tosh replied as Rose sputtered and struggled uselessly in Martha’s grip. “As soon as you get Andy and Gwen back to Cardiff. They don’t belong here. They shouldn’t have to deal with our sordid little drama.”

“But what about all of you?” Gwen demanded. “Tosh’s brains, Owen’s heart, and Mickey’s courage?”

“Don’t worry about us, Gwen,” Tosh assured her. “We’ve always had those things. I’m brilliant. Owen is a caring doctor, and Mickey is King of the Jungle. We all had some trouble in the past. Jack saved us, even if it didn’t go as he planned. When he realised Rose was using you, he sent us to help.” She turned to the Doctor. “Your son was a better man than you’ll ever be.”

“I can’t argue with you there,” the Doctor sighed dejectedly. “I’m sorry. I’m afraid I don’t know how to get Gwen and Andy back to Cardiff. I wish I did. I’m just an old man from Gallifrey. I’ve been trying to fix my ship for ever so long to get back.” He gestured to the blue Police Box in the corner.

“But that’s a police call box,” Andy noted with some dismay.

“Well, yes,” the Doctor said. “Or at least it looks like one. I was travelling in her through time and space when we landed here. I fancied the place, so I stayed a while. That’s when I met Jack’s mother. Ever since I told her about Jack, she’s kept me here. She won’t change shape and she won’t take me home. I think she fancied him. She’s a bit temperamental.”

“Now we’ll never get home,” Gwen wailed to Andy. “I’ll never see Rhys again.”

“I think someone is here who can help,” Tosh replied, gesturing as a vibrant pink bubble appeared. It dissolved to reveal a thunderous looking Ianto.

“You’ve finally done it,” he shouted at the Doctor. “All he ever wanted to do was please you, and it got him killed.”

“I never meant for any of this to happen,” the Doctor replied, sounding defeated. 

“You never do,” Ianto told him. “But it happens anyway and people get hurt or worse. It has to stop. There’s nothing you can do for Jack now, but Gwen and Andy are victims here as well. At least take them home. It will do you good to get away from Boeshane and travel for a while.”

“I would if I could,” the Doctor told him. “But you know I have no magic of my own. Not really.”

“I think I can solve that problem,” Ianto told him. He approached the Police Box. “It’s okay, beautiful,” he whispered so that only the ship could here. “Jack’s safe now. Nothing can hurt him. Take them home and him far away. It’s the best thing you can do.” With a grinding sound, the ship sprang to life and the door flew open.

“But how?” the Doctor demanded, looking perplexed.

“Does it really matter?” Ianto sighed. “Just go. Tosh, Owen, Mickey, and I will take charge here. Donna Noble and Martha will help us. Rose will answer for her crimes, and we’ll set Boeshane to rights. In order for us to do that, you need to leave. First, you need to let the people know we’re in charge. They’re frightened. They need reassurance.”

“Of course,” the Doctor whispered. He cleared his throat, before moving to one of the balconies overlooking the city. He began to speak to the populace. “I, your Doctor par ardua ad alta, am about to embark upon a hazardous and technically unexplainable journey into the outer stratosphere.”

“Does that make sense to any of you?” Owen demanded.

“Not in the least,” Ianto sighed, shaking his head. “But a little techno babble is good for the soul.

“Says you,” Mickey muttered. “It gives me a headache.”

The Doctor continued to speak. “I hereby decree that until what time - if any - that I return, that Tosh, by virtue of her highly superior brains, shall rule in my stead...assisted by Owen, by virtue of his magnificent heart...and Mickey - by virtue of his courage! Ianto, the Mage of the East, Martha, my Captain of the Guard, and Donna Noble, the Mayor of Munchkinland, shall advise them. Obey them as you would me!“ He turned back to the small group in the throne room. “We should go,” he said.

“You can’t,” Rose pleaded. “You can’t just leave me. Take me with you.”

“No,” Ianto stated before the Doctor could reply. “You will stand trial. Martha, have your men detain her then return here.”

“Of course,” Martha replied, leading a livid Rose out of the throne room.

“It’s time to go,” Ianto said to Gwen and Andy. “I’m sorry for all that’s happened, but thank you for helping us stop Rose and the Doctor.”

“I’m not sure I understand any of this,” Gwen began. “But, thank you for helping us get home. How can we repay you?”

“A couple of things,” Ianto told them.

“Name it, mate,” Andy replied sincerely.

“First, I’d like Jack’s coat back,” Ianto asked. “He was a friend once. I need to return it to where it belongs.”

“Of course,” Gwen said hastily, handing him the garment and watching suspiciously as he hugged it tightly. “He was more than a friend, wasn’t he?”

“Does it matter now?” Ianto asked softly, relieved when Gwen shook her head.

“What’s the other thing?” Andy asked, anxious to be on his way.

“The Vortex Manipulator,” Ianto said, indicating Gwen’s wrist. “I want it.”

“He tried to take it from me and it shocked him,” Gwen admitted, running her hand over the device.

“It would have,” Ianto told her. “You have to give it up willingly. Will you do that now?”

“Oh yes,” Gwen replied without hesitation, eager to be rid of any connection to this strange place. She undid the strap and handed it to Ianto. “Please, take it.”

“Thank you,” Ianto whispered. “You should go.”

Nodding, Gwen turned to Tosh, Owen, and Mickey. “I … I feel like I’ve known you forever. I don’t know what to say. Thank you for helping us.”

“We’d never have made it without you,” Andy added. “Even if you weren’t entirely truthful.”

“It had to be done,” Tosh told them. “Safe travels.”

Gwen hugged each of the three in turn as Andy shook their hands. They joined the Doctor at the Police Box. “Ready, then?” he asked.

“Oh yes,” Gwen assured him.

The Doctor turned to lead her and Andy into the Police Box, before hesitating and turning back to look at the small group a few feet away from them. “I’m sorry things got this way,” he murmured, looking around at them, not making eye contact with any of them, until he looked at Ianto.

“I really am,” he added, looking into Ianto’s eyes, trying to convey his honesty. “I just…” He sighed heavily. “I just hope that wherever Jack has ended up, he’ll be able to forgive me someday.”

Ianto smiled tightly and nodded his head. “I’m sure he will,” he whispered, trying to keep his emotions in check. “Someday.”

“I’ve always been proud of him,” the Doctor added, opening the door for Gwen and Andy. “I just wish I could tell him.”

Ianto very nearly lost the tight rein he had on his emotions and he had to struggle to keep his face blank. “I’m sure he’ll find out somehow,” he eventually managed to croak.

The Doctor’s eyes bored into Ianto and suddenly the Earth Mage realised something; the Doctor knew Jack wasn’t really dead. Ianto wasn’t sure how the Doctor had figured it out, but somehow he had.

Instead of calling Ianto on the lie, the Doctor was letting them go to live their lives in the hopes they would find him someday. He arranged his face into a small smile and turned back to Gwen and Andy. “Let’s go,” he said, trying to fill his voice with as much enthusiasm as possible. “First stop, Cardiff,” he added, leading them Police Box and closing the door behind them; throwing a knowing look over his shoulder at Ianto. With a loud wishing and clanging it disappeared from view.

“Now what?” Tosh asked Ianto after several moments.

“Now we collect the spell books from Rose that Jack told us about,” Ianto replied. “Then we have an appointment to keep.”

~

At the edge of the Haunted Forest, Jack Harkness paced restlessly. Half a day had passed since he used a simple parlour trick to appear to melt from the water Gwen had thrown at him and escaped through a trap door into a tunnel under the Castle. It had been Ianto’s idea to fake his death using the ridiculous rumours that water could kill him. If his lover’s plan had worked, all of Boeshane – including the Doctor and Rose – now thought he was dead and he was free to live his life far away from here. 

He’d expected Ianto and the others before this. Only his promise to the younger man kept him from flying to Tardis City to find his lover and his friends. If he appeared now, all their careful planning would be for nothing. He just had to hope Ianto was successful in arresting Rose, banishing the Doctor, getting the Vortex Manipulator, and sending Gwen and Andy home.

“Just four impossible things,” Jack muttered darkly as he continued to pace. “Should be easy.”

“Of course it was,” a familiar voice replied. “I do at least half a dozen impossible things before breakfast. You should know that.”

“Things in bed don’t count,” Jack said with a grin, pulling Ianto into his arms and kissing him senseless. 

“Oi,” Owen snarled, averting his eyes. “Things we don’t need to see.”

“I think it’s sweet,” Tosh whispered as Mickey just shifted on his feet.

“Did it work?” Jack demanded, glancing around the group.

“Smooth as silk,” Ianto told him, holding out the coat and the Vortex Manipulator.

“Gwen and Andy left with the Doctor,” Owen reported, sounding just a bit wistful.

“And Rose is under arrest,” Mickey said. “Martha and Donna the Noble are arranging a trial as we speak.”

“Do they know?” Jack asked softly. It bothered him to think that his fiery red-headed friend and the loyal, brave Martha thought him dead.

“They do,” Ianto assured him. “We can trust them, but just to be sure I told them in a soundproof bubble and used a memory spell. If they try to tell anyone who doesn’t know, they’ll forget it themselves.”

“Oh, advanced magic,” Jack smirked. “You’ve been studying.”

“I have a great tutor,” Ianto replied fondly. The mage’s eyes met and locked; neither one quite believed that their nightmare was almost over.

A gentle cough broke the moment. “We also got these,” Tosh added, handing Jack several spell books once he’d put on the coat and strapped the manipulator to his wrist. “Are they what you need?”

“We’ll see,” Jack told her gently, pulling out the Grimore as well. “It’s going to be dark soon. We should make camp while I study these. Ianto and I have to go tonight. Before we leave, I’ll fix you if I can. I promise.”

~

Jack spread the spell books out on a large, flat rock and began to look through them. While he did so, the others made camp. Owen used his axe to clear some brush and cut some wood for a fire, which Ianto started after casting a smug look at his lover. Standing back from the blaze, Tosh prepared a meal of fruits, nuts, and wild vegetables that Mickey had found. Ianto also used his earth magic to create soft, warm bedding from nearby tall grasses.

When the camp and meal were ready, Ianto went to pull Jack away from the books. “How’s it going?” he asked.

The older Mage looked thoughtful. “Making progress. I have an idea that might work,” he added. “A reversal spell from one of Rose’s books. It will work on Tosh just fine I think, but I’m worried about Owen. “

“Why’s that?” Ianto inquired, rubbing Jack’s neck to release some of the tension. 

“The spell reverts them back to their previous form,” Jack explained. “Tosh was human and whole, but I’d removed Owen’s heart by mistake. What if it reverts him to that state? He’ll die.”

Sensing his lover’s anguish, Ianto pulled him close. “Tell him the truth and give him a choice,” he suggested. “It’s his life. Let him decide.”

“Yeah,” Jack said closing the book and moving to stand. He started to head towards the fire when Ianto stopped him. “What?” the older mage asked.

“When this is done, no more magic, please?” Ianto begged. “I see what it does to you when it goes wrong. I think we should leave it behind us when we leave Boeshane.”

“Some of it is just a part of me – of us – and always will be,” Jack reminded him. “I think you’re right, though. We should leave the spell books behind. Tosh and Owen will know what to do with them.”

“They will,” Ianto said, giving Jack a small kiss. He was pleased that his lover had been so easy to convince. He felt strongly enough about it that he was willing to fight over it, but he was glad they did not have to. “Coming to dinner?” he asked when he noticed Jack was lagging behind.

“Go ahead,” the older Mage said. “I need to check one thing. I’ll be right there. I promise.”

“You have five minutes,” Ianto told him as he moved off. “I’m counting.”

“I’ll be there,” Jack called after him as he returned to the spell books. Moving quickly, he located the two spells he wanted and ripped them from the books. He carefully folded them and stuck them in his pocket. While he agreed with Ianto, these would ensure he could give his lover everything he wanted and deserved from life. After what Ianto had done for him, it was the least he could do. Smiling, Jack moved to join the others at the fire.

~

Once Mickey, Jack and Ianto had eaten, the Mage focused on Owen and Tosh. “I found a reversal spell in one of Rose’s books,” he told them. “It should work for Tosh without a problem, but …” His voice trailed off.

“But what?” Owen demanded angrily. “Don’t play games, Jack. What’s the problem?”

“The spell returns people to their pre-enchanted state,” Jack explained. “Tosh was healthy and human. She should revert back. I changed you to this,” he indicated the tin form, ”because I screwed up and removed your heart. If it takes you back to that and not to your natural form, you’ll die. I don’t think we should risk it.”

Owen swore. “Tough,” he told the Mage. “It’s not your call. I’d rather risk it then stay like this. You owe me this, Harkness.”

Jack closed his eyes. “Okay,” he muttered. “Let me change Tosh first. I want it just right for you.”

Owen nodded, joints creaking. He made eye contact with the Mage. “Whatever happens, I chose it. You are not to blame. I’ll haunt you from wherever if you let it destroy your chance at happiness. I promise, I will.”

“Somehow, I believe you,” Jack murmured, forcing back tears.

They cleared the remains of dinner, then Tosh and Jack sat cross-legged, facing each other. “Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Tosh whispered, squeezing his hands.

Jack squeezed back, and then locked his eyes with hers. He began to chant, “Power of earth. Power of sky. Take what is, and return what was. Power of wind. Power of rain. Overcome fate, and restore her shape.”

Tosh felt energy pour through her as she gasped. A cloud of blue smoke obscured her and Jack from the view of the others. When it cleared, Owen gasped. “Tosh,” he cried. “I’d forgotten how beautiful you are.”

Grinning, Tosh embraced Jack. In place of the straw and cloth, she was a slender, lovely Asian woman with intelligent eyes and a ready smile. “You did it,” she told the Mage. “You really did it! Thank you!”

“No, Tosh,” Jack said as he hugged her tight. “Thank you.”

The others gave them a couple of minutes, and then Owen said. “Well, my turn.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Tosh told him. “We love you just the way you are.”

“Tosh is right,” Ianto added. “It’s not safe for you or Jack.”

“What’s safe?” Owen muttered. “Living like this – not being able to eat or drink or smell. Not being able to feel someone’s skin against mine. It’s a half-life. Whatever happens, I’m okay with it.” He looked at Jack. “I’m ready.”

Jack nodded. He crouched on the ground as Mickey and Ianto helped Owen to do the same, then stepped back to join Tosh. Jack began his spell. “Power of earth. Power of sky. Take what is, and return what was. Power of wind. Power of rain. Overcome fate, and restore his shape.”

Once again, power flowed and the blue smoke obscured everything. When it cleared, Ianto, Mickey and Tosh heard Jack calling out. “Owen, come on, Answer me,” he begged.

After what seemed like an eternity, Owen answered. “Quit your nattering,” he scolded. “Let a guy get used to having skin again.”

“Yes!” Jack shouted, jumping up and pulling Owen to his feet, hugging him tightly.

“Get off me,” Owen snarled as Jack released him, only to have his place taken by Tosh then Ianto. Mickey settled for a slap on the back.

“You were brilliant,” Tosh told Jack as she hugged him. “Wait until Donna and Martha find out. They’re going to …oh…” she paused. “I just realised. You won’t be there when we tell them. You’re leaving now and we’ll never see you again.” Her voice cracked just a bit.

“Never say never, Tosh,” Ianto soothed, embracing her and holding her close. “Maybe we’ll come back someday, or maybe you’ll find us but for now we have to go.”

“So soon?” Mickey asked, sounding desolate. “Maybe stay the night then in the morning …”

“No!” Ianto said firmly. “The longer we stay, the more we risk someone discovering Jack is still alive. We’ll never have peace then. The Doctor will keep looking for him. We’ve risked too much to make a mistake now, as much as we want to stay.”

“He’s right,” Owen told Tosh and Mickey gently. “We have to let them go.”

“What do we tell people about you, Ianto?” Tosh asked. “They’re expecting to see you help us lead.”

“Tell them the truth – or close to it,” Ianto said. “Tell them that after the recent upheaval, I needed time alone to travel and reflect, but that I hope to return to Boeshane someday.”

Tosh nodded, then her eyes grew wide when Jack handed her the spell books and the Grimore. “What am I supposed to do with these?” she gasped.

“Guard them,” Jack told her. “Someday, you’ll meet a witch or mage who deserves them. Chose well.”

Tosh still looked perplexed. “Won’t you need them for your magic?” 

Shaking his head, Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto’s waist. “I have the magic I need. I’m done with the rest of it.”

“Soppy git,” Ianto mumbled, but his expression was fond. “It’s time,” he told his lover.

The mages each hugged their friends then took a step back. They smiled through tears as Ianto covered Jack’s hand with his then Jack activated the Vortex Manipulator. A blinding flash of blue light filled the clearing. When Owen, Tosh, and Mickey could see again, the men were gone.

~

Jack and Ianto materialised near a large water tower. They could smell the sea air. “Oh,” Jack gushed. “I think I’m going to like it here.”

“Where is here?” Ianto asked, looking about. It was nearing dusk. They appeared to be near a entertainment complex of some type, as the smell of food and the sound of music drifted towards them.

“No idea,” Jack replied, looking a bit maniacal. “Does it matter?”

“Not in the least,” Ianto muttered, loving the carefree look of freedom on Jack’s face. While his eyes still reflected his grief over Gray, Ianto never remembered him looking this happy. “We need to sort lodging and such.”

“Ever my practical Ianto,” Jack responded fondly, kissing his lover gently. He took several blank sheets of paper from his pocket. “I worked some spells on these earlier. They’ll get us currency, a place to live, jobs, and whatever we need.”

“I thought we agreed no spells,” Ianto warned as his voice grew a bit icy.

“This is the last of it,” Jack reassured him. “The spell books and the Grimore are back in Boeshane. This is just to get us started.” There was one more spell still in his pocket, but he’d tell Ianto about that when the time was right.

Ianto nodded. “Okay,” he said with a grin, kissing Jack back gently before pinning him to a nearby wall and snogging him senseless.

“Hey, you two,” a familiar voice called several minutes later, causing them to break apart. “Move along … wait, don’t I know you?”

“No, can’t say as you do,” Ianto replied smoothly.

“You I’d remember,” Jack added with a leer.

“Enough of that,” PC Andy Davidson said. “Move along.” He stalked off, muttering something about figments of his imagination staying in his dreams where they belonged.

Once he was out of earshot, Ianto turned to glare at Jack. “We have endless possibilities to choose from, and you bring us to Cardiff? Gwen and Andy’s Cardiff?”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Jack protested vehemently, trying to look innocent. “The Vortex Manipulator must have sensed what Gwen wanted. Since we were the ones to use it, it brought us here.”

“Not for long,” Ianto retorted, pulling Jack towards a nearby Tourist Information Centre. “There has to be a way out of this city. We’ll find jobs and a house someplace else.”

“I don’t care where we go,” Jack told him. “As long as we’re together.”

Ianto nodded. “Agreed. Transportation first, and then a place to live.”

“We need a big place,” Jack told him as they walked towards the Tourist Office. “A nice bedroom. A garden. A nursery would be nice too,” he added, patting his pocket – or was that his stomach?

“Sounds lovely,” Ianto mused absently, and then stopped dead. “A what? A nursery? Why? Jack, answer me,” he called after his lover’s retreating back. “What have you done? Jack?”

The only response he got was the Mage’s laughter floating back to him on the wind.

The End


End file.
